Hayek von Pinochet
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For instance, Hayekâwriting to The Times in 1978 and explicitly invoking Pinochet by nameânoted that under certain âhistorical circumstances,â an authoritarian government may prove especially conducive to the long-run preservation of liberty: There are âmany instances of authoritarian governments under which personal liberty was safer than under many democracies.â
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[Hayek] noted that if âStrauss (who I met during a reception in Chile briefly)â had been âattacked for his support for Chile he deserves to be congratulated for his courage.â [Franz Josef Strauss was a right-wing German politician, who had visited Chile in 1977 and met with Pinochet. His views were roundly repudiated by both the Social Democrats and the Christian Democrats in Germany. Hayek apparently wanted to help Strauss become chancellor of Germany.]
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Though Hayekâs 1981 interviews with El Mercurio have attracted much attention, scholars have ignored El Mercurioâs coverage of Hayekâs initial visit to Chile in 1977. In particular, El Mercurio notes that Hayekâquoted as saying that Chileâs efforts to develop and reform its economy provided âan example at the global levelâ (1977: 27)âhad met with Pinochet: âAt the end of his visit . . . Hayek . . . was received by President Augusto Pinochet. He [Hayek] told reporters that he talked to Pinochet about the issue of limited democracy and representative government. . . . He said that in his writings he showed that unlimited democracy does not work because it creates forces that in the end destroy democracy. He said that the head of state listened carefully and that he had asked him to provide him with the documents he had written on this issue.â
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According to Hayek, Pinochet had requested copies of Hayekâs writings (âdocumentsâ) explaining why unlimited democracy would inevitably lead to the destruction of democracy (1977). Consequently, Hayek asked Charlotte Cubitt (his secretary from February 1977 until his death in 1992) to send Pinochet a draft of Hayekâs âA Model Constitutionâ (Cubitt 2006: 19). Importantly, Hayekâs chapterââA Model Constitutionâ (1979b: 105â127)âprovides a three-page discussion of the conditions under which the adoption of Emergency Powers (124â126) and the suspension of democracy are supposedly justified: The âbasic principle of a free society . . . [âthe coercive powers of government are restricted to the enforcement of universal rules of just conductâ] . . . may . . . have to be temporarily suspended when the long-run preservation of that order [the free society] is itself threatenedâ (1979b: 124).
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When Hayek visited Chile in 1981 he âtook time off from his official commitments to walk around and see for himself whether people were cheerful and content. He told me that it was the sight of many sturdy and healthy children that had convinced him.â
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As Hayek notes, âdemocracy needs âa good cleaningâ by strong governments.â
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The Pinochet junta âenacted a new constitution in September 1980. . . . The constitution was not only named after Hayekâs book The Constitution of Liberty, but also incorporated significant elements of Hayekâs thinking.â
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Don't believe everything you read in an economics book, be it models, laws or people who believe in free markets and freedom and democracy, because, odds are, in reality, quite the opposite takes place.
...
For instance, Hayekâwriting to The Times in 1978 and explicitly invoking Pinochet by nameânoted that under certain âhistorical circumstances,â an authoritarian government may prove especially conducive to the long-run preservation of liberty: There are âmany instances of authoritarian governments under which personal liberty was safer than under many democracies.â
â¦
[Hayek] noted that if âStrauss (who I met during a reception in Chile briefly)â had been âattacked for his support for Chile he deserves to be congratulated for his courage.â [Franz Josef Strauss was a right-wing German politician, who had visited Chile in 1977 and met with Pinochet. His views were roundly repudiated by both the Social Democrats and the Christian Democrats in Germany. Hayek apparently wanted to help Strauss become chancellor of Germany.]
â¦
Though Hayekâs 1981 interviews with El Mercurio have attracted much attention, scholars have ignored El Mercurioâs coverage of Hayekâs initial visit to Chile in 1977. In particular, El Mercurio notes that Hayekâquoted as saying that Chileâs efforts to develop and reform its economy provided âan example at the global levelâ (1977: 27)âhad met with Pinochet: âAt the end of his visit . . . Hayek . . . was received by President Augusto Pinochet. He [Hayek] told reporters that he talked to Pinochet about the issue of limited democracy and representative government. . . . He said that in his writings he showed that unlimited democracy does not work because it creates forces that in the end destroy democracy. He said that the head of state listened carefully and that he had asked him to provide him with the documents he had written on this issue.â
â¦
According to Hayek, Pinochet had requested copies of Hayekâs writings (âdocumentsâ) explaining why unlimited democracy would inevitably lead to the destruction of democracy (1977). Consequently, Hayek asked Charlotte Cubitt (his secretary from February 1977 until his death in 1992) to send Pinochet a draft of Hayekâs âA Model Constitutionâ (Cubitt 2006: 19). Importantly, Hayekâs chapterââA Model Constitutionâ (1979b: 105â127)âprovides a three-page discussion of the conditions under which the adoption of Emergency Powers (124â126) and the suspension of democracy are supposedly justified: The âbasic principle of a free society . . . [âthe coercive powers of government are restricted to the enforcement of universal rules of just conductâ] . . . may . . . have to be temporarily suspended when the long-run preservation of that order [the free society] is itself threatenedâ (1979b: 124).
â¦
When Hayek visited Chile in 1981 he âtook time off from his official commitments to walk around and see for himself whether people were cheerful and content. He told me that it was the sight of many sturdy and healthy children that had convinced him.â
â¦
As Hayek notes, âdemocracy needs âa good cleaningâ by strong governments.â
â¦
The Pinochet junta âenacted a new constitution in September 1980. . . . The constitution was not only named after Hayekâs book The Constitution of Liberty, but also incorporated significant elements of Hayekâs thinking.â
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Don't believe everything you read in an economics book, be it models, laws or people who believe in free markets and freedom and democracy, because, odds are, in reality, quite the opposite takes place.