About this Item
A seventh printing (impression) of the true first edition, published in February 1946 to war economy standards. The book was first published in March 1944, and was very successful for a book on economics, being reprinted three times in 1944, and twice in 1945 before this 1946 printing. The dustwrapper correctly states 'Seventh impression'. The British first edition preceded its American counterpart, which was first published in September 1944. ***Near fine in variant light-blue cloth cloth-covered boards with black titles to the spine (the book is normally found in pale-green cloth with black titles). The titles are still sharp and clear, having been protected by the dustwrapper. The blue colour remains unfaded even on the spine. The boards are clean and unmarked, with no bumps or creasing to the edges or corners - just a sliver of fading at the top of the spine. No tears to the cloth. Page block edges nice and clean. No reading lean to the binding. Spine tight. Internally also near fine, with a neat ink name and pencil price on the front free endpaper. There is offsetting to the endpapers, but no creases or tears to the very thin paper. ***In a complete printed dustwrapper, which has been neatly corner price-clipped on the front flap. The dustwrapper is beautifully clean and complete, with just light creasing at the top of the spine, The red titles on the spine are completely unfaded. The dustwrapper is extremely thin, and hardly any copies have survived the last 80 years in this beautiful condition. An exceptional example. ***222mm x 145mm. 184 pages including a Bibliographical Note, Sources of Quotations, and an Index at the back of the book. ***Contents: Introduction; Chapter I - The Abandoned Road, Chapter II - The Great Utopia, Chapter III - Individualism and Collectivism, Chapter IV - The "Inevitability" of Planning, Chapter V - Democracy and Planning, Chapter VI - Planning and the Rule of Law, Chapter VII - Economic Control and Totalitarianism, Chapter VIII - Who, Whom?, Chapter IX - Security and Freedom, Chapter X - Why The Worst Get On Top, Chapter XI - The End of Truth, Chapter XII - The Socialist Roots of Nazism, Chapter XIII - The Totalitarians in our Midst, Chapter XIV - Material Conditions and Ideal Ends, Chapter XV - The Prospects of International Order. ***'"The Road to Serfdom" is a book written between 1940 and 1943 by Austrian-British economist and philosopher Friedrich Hayek. Since its publication in 1944, "The Road to Serfdom" has influenced the political imagination of conservative and classical liberal thinkers. The book was first published in Britain by Routledge in March 1944, during World War II, and was quite popular, leading Hayek to call it "that unobtainable book", also due in part to wartime paper rationing. ***The Road to Serfdom was to be the popular edition of the second volume of Hayek's treatise entitled "The Abuse and Decline of Reason", and the title was inspired by the writings of the 19th century French classical liberal thinker Alexis de Tocqueville on the "road to servitude". In the book, Hayek warns "of the danger of tyranny that inevitably results from government control of economic decision-making through central planning." He further argues that the abandonment of individualism and classical liberalism inevitably leads to a loss of freedom, the creation of an oppressive society, the tyranny of a dictator, and the serfdom of the individual. (Wiki) ***A superior collector's copy of this seventh printing of the true first edition of F. A. Hayek's "The Road to Serfdom" - one of the most influential and popular expositions of classical liberalism ever published. A very uncommon book to be found now in the original dustwrapper, and hardly any will have survived intact in this complete and original condition. ***For all our books, postage is charged at cost, allowing for packaging: any shipping rates indicated on ABE are an average only: we will reduce the P & P charge where appropriate.
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