The Fatal Conceit: The Errors of Socialism

‘The Fatal Conceit’ is not what you’d call a light read, but worth the effort if you can keep up your concentration. Hayek will always command historical interest, having been such a philosophical influence on Thatcher. As an economist of distinctly capitalist bent, he here puts the theoretical boot into socialism. You’ll either find it a compelling case or a tirade; but it rehearses the respective arguments tidily, whatever your perspective. My only reservation is that the book sounded rather like an essay, and would guess that the original print version contains references to back up the many assumptions.

Narrator Everett Sherman does a nice job, with a calm, mature voice that fits the content well, and a leisurely pace that gives you time to take in the sometimes complex arguments. Be aware that there are a few re-recorded passages that have been spliced in rather obviously.

In many respects, Hayek is on the same ground here as Ayn Rand’s ‘Atlas Shrugged’, albeit with an academic rather than a fictional orientation. Given a choice, my opinion would be that, in terms of brevity, precision and humanity, it has to be Hayek.