Amazon's book pages used to have a section called "Works that cite this work", where later books citing the one at hand would be listed. That feature no longer exists. It would have been interesting to view that information for this particular book because it is my impression that the political side of Hayek's work, which this book presents in its most complete form, has sprouted a following only along the narrow path of radical libertarianism. This is a shame and it is time it reached a broader audience.

It is of course not unreasonable to read this book as a foundational tract in libertarian philosophy. Hayek repeatedly comes to the conclusion that "it's either the free market or socialism, and socialism inevitably leads to tyranny". This is not the overarching thesis of this book, but he sticks it in every now and then for good measure. And chapters 8-9, which deal with justice, provide a categorical dismissal of "social justice" (always in scare quotes) which leaves little to the imagination as far as the amorality of the market is concerned.

But the good thing about Hayek is that he arrives at occasional libertarian conclusions only after much broader arguments. They are not initial assumptions which set the course for everything that follows. Another thing worth noting is that Hayek is clearly devoted to the cause of democracy and that he fervently espouses the rule of law. This book provides a very general and deep argument about the preconditions of trustworthy government and the appropriate restrictions that government should abide by. It poses a number of theses and questions which could significantly broaden the field of political philosophy if a diverse group of thinkers would actively engage them.

For instance: (1) Governmental decisions are based on limited knowledge. What limitations on its power and scope should follow from this fact? (2) Parties serve interest groups. How can democratic decision-making without logrolling and lobbying be secured? (3) A beneficial social order can form spontaneously. Which general rules of conduct facilitate it? Hayek's answers to these questions is far too complex to be recapitulated here, but his central thesis is that general rules of just conduct should not be formulated by the same parliament which processes the practical affairs of government. The spontaneous development of social order, to which parliamentary bargaining is both blind and deleterious, requires that a second legislative body, separate from parliament, is given the power to promote it.

Needless to say, I found the majority of this argument highly interesting, with the exception of the justice chapters. However, I have to deduct one star for its unduly complex structure and great length. This work was originally written as three separate volumes and this makes for some unnecessary repetition where the same questions are discussed several times from slightly different angles. Although Hayek's arguments are always a model of clarity, they are not models of conciseness. I often wished he had just let an argument stand after making it instead of embellishing it unnecessarily with extended supplementary comments which only make the reader forget what the main point was.

But in conclusion, reading this book without prejudice can be an eye-opening experience, so I strongly recommend it to all practitioners of political and social theory, regardless of which hue of the political spectrum they identify themselves with.