Friedrich Hayek's Ignorance of Utopia

Xuefeng

May 18, 2024

Friedrich Hayek is seen by some as the gravedigger of utopia. His primary stance on utopia is that any planned system attempting to realize utopia will trample on private property, disregard basic human nature, lead to resource scarcity, social chaos, and ultimately result in disorder and enslavement. The outcome is economic collapse, moral decay, the extinction of truth, and self-destruction. Therefore, utopia is an unrealistic fantasy that can never be realized in reality.

Hayek’s most destructive critique of utopia is that there are many ways to destroy the world, but the most deceptive is utopia. However, his most poignant assertion is, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions,” and “What always turns the world into hell is precisely people’s attempts to turn it into heaven.”

To be honest, I agree with many of Hayek’s views. From a human perspective, I believe that many of Hayek’s views on freedom, democracy, protection of private property rights, and market economy are correct. If people do not long for a heavenly kingdom, then following the path pointed out by Hayek would be a good strategy.

However, Hayek’s views and conclusions on utopia are completely wrong. He does not understand the true meaning of utopia. He simply seizes upon some phenomena that resemble utopia and hastily defines it, appearing both arbitrary and ignorant.

Like many others, Hayek mistakenly equates Hitler’s Nazi regime and the Soviet planned economy with utopia, thereby rejecting utopia. This is akin to mistaking a pile of chicken bones for a phoenix, a moth for a butterfly, and a fly for a bee.

Utopia is a pursuit and aspiration of people with a heavenly consciousness. Without a profound understanding of life and time-space, without knowledge of humanity’s ultimate purpose, and without an understanding and longing for the heavenly kingdom, people will never grasp the connotation and extension of utopia. The reason Hayek is ignorant of utopia is that he is human. He is a materialist, a realist, and a rationalist, but he is certainly not a soul that transcends human nature and possesses the LIFE of the heavenly kingdom.

Planned economies have nothing to do with utopia. Governments have nothing to do with utopia. Property has nothing to do with utopia. Legal systems and management have nothing to do with utopia. The Thousand-year World is a pure and genuine utopia that has existed for hundreds of thousands of years, still operating flawlessly and orderly.

Saying that utopia disregards basic human nature is a complete inversion of truth and distortion of facts. Not to mention the Thousand-year World, even the Second Home of the Lifechanyuan, which is a utopia, is a place where human nature is truly expressed and fully blossomed. The notion that “the road to hell is paved with good intentions” is absurd. Without good intentions, how can there be a bright future? Does only having vile intentions lead to a beautiful future? What’s the difference between a person and a pig in a sty, if the person has lost good intentions? If you stand in the gutter and refuse to look up at the stars, does it mean that all those who look up at the stars with good intentions are heading to hell, and only those who look down at the gutter can create a bright future for humanity?

I never believe that depriving others of private property has any justice. On the contrary, private property should be sacredly protected. This way, people will have a sense of security, a sense of freedom, and enthusiasm and passion to invent and create, which will maximally stimulate the development of productivity. At the same time, I also believe that businessmen and commerce are the greatest philanthropists and mechanisms of charity for humanity. Relying on market mechanisms rather than government planning is more in line with human nature and economic laws.

However, we should not limit our view to the narrow perspective of a well and think that the sky is only as wide as its opening. The happiness, joy, and freedom experienced by those who possess nothing but own everything are beyond the reach of billionaires. The wisdom, experiences, and the wonderful understanding of life and spiritual realm that selfless people have are beyond the reach of those who are selfish. Utopia is precisely composed of noble beings who possess nothing and yet own everything, who are unselfish and selfless. Those without accumulated blessings from past lives and a reverent respect for nature have no chance of living in a utopian world.

When people pursue material wealth, power, status, and fame, they should not forget that there are always some individuals striving to reach the pinnacle of life and LIFE. These individuals are humanity’s hope and beacon. They are the ones who seek to create a utopia, whose hearts live in a utopian society, and they are the ones most likely to enter the heaven.