Degree Year
2014
Document Type
Thesis - Open Access
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Politics
Advisor(s)
Jade Schiff
Harlan Wilson
Keywords
Hayek, Friedrich Hayek, Utopia, Utopianism, Utopian thought, Neoliberalism
Abstract
Against the conventional wisdom, I will argue in this paper that Hayek's political philosophy contains a utopian vision of the good society. By adopting and building on Isaiah Berlin's conception of utopia as a state of static perfection, I will argue that such a vision is implied, if not overtly stated, in Hayek's work. First, Hayek's view that there ought to be a relentless application of an unfettered market mechanism brings about, as he would have it, a static and perfect outcome by whittling away inefficient alternatives to yield a perfectly efficient outcome. In applying an unfettered market mechanism to (a) the evolution of the rules of just conduct and (b) the allocation of public goods, Hayek implies a developmental inevitability characterized by static perfection. Second, I will argue that his sketches of the proper contours of government demonstrate a conventionally utopian vision for the good society and manifest his conception of utopia.
Repository Citation
Kuipers, Nicholas, "Planning Against Planning: Friedrich Hayek's Utopian Vision of The Good Society" (2014). Honors Papers. 297.
https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/honors/297
