Liberalism’s Last Man: Hayek in the Age of Political Capitalism

Yadav, professor of international relations at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, debuts with a vigorous reappraisal of 20th-century economist Friedrich Hayek in light of today’s increasing authoritarian encroachment on liberal, meritocratic, free-market societies. The main threat, Yadav asserts, comes from “political capitalism,” a style of governance already on the rise in China, Vietnam, and other South and East Asian countries. Characterized by an “efficient technocratic bureaucracy, the absence of the rule of law, and the autonomy of the state in matters of private capital and civil society,” political capitalism is a particularly dangerous authoritarian admixture because it could nonetheless guarantee limited individual freedoms and social prosperity. The best bulwark against this kind of authoritarianism, according to Yadav, is a return to the moderate liberalism of Hayek, predicated on the belief “that individuals should at least be permitted to attempt to shape their own lives and to have the opportunity to know and choose between different forms of life.” At the same time, Yadav acknowledges that some level of state intervention may be necessary; following Hayek, he calls for a “small but muscular state capable of controlling monopolies.” Seamlessly intertwining political philosophy, intellectual history, and textual criticism, this is an expansive and robust defense of capitalist liberalism. (Aug.)