Professor Steven Horwitz uses his Freeman column today to discuss the importance of F.A. Hayek and in particular his observation that a liberal society is means-centered rather than ends-centered.
“Liberal” society? Yes, but not the way the word is misused in our everyday political parlance. Hayek was a liberal in the old European tradition — someone who favored a state that kept order but did not boss its people around. That’s the opposite of authoritarian states, which to a great extent run people’s lives for them and limit their liberty with numerous mandates and prohibitions.
Obama, of course, does not want a liberal society.
