Hayek Document Analysis

Freedom in today’s society is looked at being the right the people have of the united states. While in earlier years it has been looked on by people who actually have freedom is simply something they get because of the power and wealth. Throughout both documents it is showing different point of views one from someone who believes that freedom should be earned not just given too, and one is believes that freedom only comes to those of power and wealth.
Throughout Hayek document he expresses that freedom in American is merely another work for power and wealth, compared to Lyndon B. Johnson looks at freedom as everyone is equal and that we all have the right of freedom. The difference between the two are that document 149 by Hayek states” freedom
in this sense is, of course, merely another name for power and wealth” (pg.200), but this statement he makes it very clear that freedom does not just come to those of the American society but to those who could afford it. By in the eyes of Lyndon B Johnson freedom comes with being an American citizen. Has he states “Freedom is the right to share, share fully and equally, in American society-to vote, to hold a job, to enter a public place, to go to school” (pg.279). Lyndon believes that along with being an American citizen you are able to have the freedom to travel where ever to do whatever and to work wherever you want. But even with this freedom to do whatever you want Lyndon does feel this is enough to the American life. Most of the people who are fighting for this freedom was locked away and being held as slaves and working for the wealthy families. These people are the ones who should be able to have the opportunity to do anything they want and have the true meaning of freedom, and just because they were once slaves doesn’t make them unequal. With both document they both express that the definitions of freedom during both times and both don’t agree with what society takes it as.
There are many threats to the chance of having a real definition of freedom but to Hayek and Johnson the major threat consists to governmental involvement and with Johnson they threat constitute of having rites and gang fights.
Throughout both document they explain why these things cause such a threat their liberty of freedom. “In the road of serfdom, Hayek claimed that even the best-intentioned governments efforts to direct the economy posed a threat to individual liberty” (Pg.197). governmental involvement in the liberty does more harm than good, from the Hayek document. He explains that the government we have worked so hard to build theses years doesn’t help the freedom we deserve. “For at least twenty-five years before the specter of totalitarianism became a real threat, we had progressively been moving away from the basic ideas on which western civilization has been built” (Pg.197). Hayek explains that not only has this civilization be built on such government but we have worked so hard to make this something successful on and not the greatest strength of American could come tumbling down because of it. Today American is known for its power and freedom of the people. As Johnson would put it the greatest threat is the weakness if family and we must build it so that this will not cause a threat to the liberty of freedom. “The family is the cornerstone of our society” (pg.281). knowing that our most commonly everyday life is created because of those people we grow up with,
the people that raise children homes shape the lives and make those children into who they are today. We sometimes take for granted the fact that we are out parents child we a representation of their parenting and what we were taught right from wrong. “So, unless we work to strengthen the family, to create conditions under which most parents will stay together-all the rest; schools, and playgrounds, and public assistance and private concern, will never be enough to cut completely the circle of despair and deprivation” (Pg. 281). Johnson feels as if all families were to be “perfect” this society would never fail. By having a difficult home to live in Johnson states that this could create a deprived child from what they deserve to have a loving a nurturing home. Both authors have different perspectives on the liberty of freedom as well as the certain threats that could damage it, as well as have it change but not for the good.
Each author stands from two different platforms, as Hayek stands from a conservative, Austrian citizen, who merely observed the American society and decided to write a book that was published in 1960 about the way Americans made civilization possible by the fundamentals of liberty, but was portrayed by the wealthy made it happen.
As Johnson stands from a liberalism American citizen in 1965 was known as the president most involved with the civil rights movement during this time. Both as we have discussed have different views and this is because of the different platforms they stand on with one, Hayek believes that the federal government’s role was not to restrict the American from being free. As Hayek states “The new freedom promised however was to be freedom from necessity, release from the compulsion of the circumstances which inevitably limit the range of choice of all of us, although for some very much more than for others” (pg.199). The government only limits what we see and doesn’t give us full information to make out own decisions Hayek sates that the government is more of a “compulsion” and they only tell the American people what they want to, to persuade them into doing what they want the world to do ultimately there should be not federal government to watch over the “free” society. “before man could be broken, the “despotism of physical want” ad to be broken, the restraints of the economic system” relaxed” (Pg.199). as Hayek continues to express that the
economic/government could not be restraining this free country to continue to only make the decisions that the governments what’s them to make. As Johnson looks at the government being more of a median between the citizen and the government, Johnson states” thus it is not enough to open the gates of opportunity. All our citizens must have the ability to walk through those gates” (Pg.279). The opportunity should be to an equal person and with freedom comes with civil rights such as the right to vote, or the right to freedom of speech and express what maybe what is going on in the society. With for such a long period of time and having certain people locked up doing work for the wealthy this is important to those people because they don’t have the same opportunities that the white people do because they will know a former slave is working just like every other person. Government doesn’t only play a significance role during this time but as well as in today’s society, more significantly need back in the day because of people who thought they were too good to work with those of a different colored skin. The color of one’s skin means nothing except that they have a different skin color. “It flows from long years of degradation and discrimination, which have attacked his dignity and assaulted his ability to produce for his family” (Pg. 281). As said before by Johnson family is the strongest and weakest part of this civilization. With not being able to provide enough for this family could cause some devastation within the community. Blacks should be treated equally and the only way this is possible is to have a median and be able to have some tell the whites that they are in the wrong.
With both authors we are looking into two different stages of the same process but during different times. By knowing the time period is key, to understanding why each authors view stray so far from each other. As Hayek an Austrian economist, Johnson a American liberalism the views are so different not just because of who they are and their ideas but as well as the way they were brought up made them feel this way. Freedom has been thought to be multiple different things and different from what we feel it is today. Both authors give us different perspective between what they thing and how society in this time disagreed from the two.