F.a. Hayek

Human reason can neither predict nor deliberately shape its own future. Its advances consist in finding out where it has read more

Human reason can neither predict nor deliberately shape its own future. Its advances consist in finding out where it has been wrong.

However human, envy is certainly not one of the sources of discontent that a free society can eliminate. It is read more

However human, envy is certainly not one of the sources of discontent that a free society can eliminate. It is probably one of the essential conditions for the preservation of such a society that we do not countenance envy, not sanction its demands by camouflaging it as social justice, but treat it, in the words of John Stuart Mill, as "the most anti-social and evil of all passions.

...the case for individual freedom rests largely on the recognition of the inevitable and universal ignorance of all of us read more

...the case for individual freedom rests largely on the recognition of the inevitable and universal ignorance of all of us concerning a great many of the factors on which the achievements of our ends and welfare depend.

Equality of the general rules of law and conduct, however, is the only kind of equality conducive to liberty and read more

Equality of the general rules of law and conduct, however, is the only kind of equality conducive to liberty and the only equality which we can secure without destroying liberty. Not only has liberty nothing to do with any other sort of equality, but it is even bound to produce inequality in many respects. This is the necessary result and part of the justification of individual liberty: if the result of individual liberty did not demonstrate that some manners of living are more successful than others, much of the case for it would vanish.

Should our moral beliefs really prove to be dependent on factual assumptions shown to be incorrect, it would be hardly read more

Should our moral beliefs really prove to be dependent on factual assumptions shown to be incorrect, it would be hardly moral to defend them by refusing to acknowledge the facts.