Friedrich Hayek

"The welfare state, in the form in which most of us know it, is in truth a very recent development."

"Only the wealthy can afford charity now; the poor cannot."

"The most serious threat to freedom is the concentration of power."

"The intellectual community could be said to be divided into two groups."

"It is not always the magnitude of a thing that matters, but the direction."

"The outstanding discovery of nineteenth century science was the idea of evolution."

"History shows that free people have not generally supported capitalism; they have usually fought against the damage it causes."

"It is hardly too much to say that the greatest happiness has come from increasingly doing those things which were previously restricted to the very wealthy."

"The aim of science should be understanding, not prediction."

"Not all errors are equal. Some are more productive than others."

"Man cannot be treated as the potter treats the clay."

"The only way to stop a monopoly is to prevent the establishment of one."

"Every extension of government power, no matter how well intentioned, carries with it the seeds of evil."

"The curious character of economics as a science is that it provides a method for the solution of problems."

"The achievement of freedom is not the end of history but only the beginning."

"The dangerous superstition that we can have freedom and security both is still widespread."

"True equality means not everyone getting the same thing, but everyone having the same opportunity."

"The more we rely on government to solve our problems, the less free we become."

"Those who believe the future must differ from the present must accept responsibility for guidance."

"The paradox of the progressive movement is that in seeking to make people equal they make them increasingly unequal."

"We are not concerned here with the historical question of why capitalism emerged."

"The real problem of government is not power but the legitimacy of power."

"The concept of natural rights is the foundation of all liberalism."

"Abundance comes with freedom, scarcity with control."

"The assumption of an objective reality independent of human thought is necessary."

"The most powerful argument against democracy is a ten minute conversation with the average voter."

"The paradox of the attempt to make yourself happy is that the attempt itself precludes happiness."

"Only when we understand economics as a method can we avoid the dangers of pseudo-science."

"The curious economist searches not for law but for pattern."

"The market economy is the only system that has ever worked."