All Roads Lead to Serfdom

Confronting Liberalism’s Fatal Flaw

Thomas Aubrey

• Publisher: Bristol University Press
• Year: 2022
• eBook ISBN: 9781529225303
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Economics
• Subtopic: Economic Theory
• Index: Economics

Liberal democracies are under increasing pressure. Growing discontent about inequality, lack of political participation and identity have rekindled populism and a shift away from liberal values.

This book argues that liberalism's reliance on a utilitarian policy framework has resulted in increased concentrations of power, restricting freedom and equality. It examines five key areas of public policy: monetary policy, private property and liability, the structure of the state, product markets and labour markets.

Drawing on the German ordoliberal tradition and its founding principle of the dispersal of power, the book proposes an alternative public policy framework. In doing so, it offers a practical pathway to realign policy making with liberal ideas.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• List of Figures and Tables
• Preface
• 1 Introduction
• 2 The Liberal Order and its Utilitarian Foundation
• 3 The Rise of Ordo
• 4 The West German Experiment and the Decline of Ordo
• 5 Monetary Policy: The Illiberal Practice of Inflation Targeting
• 6 Liability and Private Property: Confronting the Perfect Externalizing Machine
• 7 Structure of the State: Community and Vitalpolitik
• 8 Labour Markets: Continuous Training and Flexibility
• 9 Product Markets: Enforcing the Price Mechanism
• 10 Confronting Liberalism’s Fatal Flaw
• Appendix: Methodology Used for Measuring the Dispersal of Public and Private Power by Policy Field
• Notes
• References
• Index