The power which a multiple millionaire, who may be my neighbour and perhaps my employer, has over me is very much less that which the smallest functionaire possess who wield the coercive power of the state, and on whose discretion it depends whether and how I am able to be allowed to live or work.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Hayek argues that individual liberty is more threatened by state functionaries with coercive power than by wealthy private individuals.
- In plain terms
- Government officials who control your ability to live or work have more power over you than rich neighbors do.
- What can you take from it?
- State coercion poses a greater risk to freedom than private wealth.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How much power should the state have over individual livelihoods?
- Can economic power ever be truly separate from political power?
Another view
Private wealth can also exert significant indirect coercion through economic dependency.
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