The Road to Serfdom
Barbara Wootton wrote "Freedom under Planning" after reading an early copy of "The Road to Serfdom", provided to her by Hayek. In the introduction to her book, Wootton mentioned "The Road to Serfdom" and claimed that "Much of what I have written is devoted to criticism of the views put forward by Professor Hayek in this and other books." The central argument made in "Freedom under Planning" is that "there is nothing in the conscious planning of economic priorities which is inherently incompatible with the freedoms which mean most to the contemporary Englishman or American. Civil liberties are quite unaffected. We can, if we wish, deliberately plan so as to give the fullest possible scope for the pursuit by individuals and social groups of cultural ends which are in no way state-determined." Wootton criticizes Hayek for claiming that planning "must" lead to oppression, when, in her view, that is merely one "possibility" among many. She argues that "there seems hardly better case for taking for granted that planning will bring the worst to the top than for the opposite assumption that the seats of office will be filled with angels". Thus, Wootton acknowledges the possibility that planning may exist alongside tyranny, but claims that it is equally possible to combine planning with freedom. She concludes that "A happy and fruitful marriage between freedom and planning can, in short, be arranged." However, Frank Knight, founder of the Chicago school of economics, disputes the claim that "Freedom under Planning" contradicts "The Road to Serfdom". He wrote in a scholarly review of the Wootton book: "Let me repeat that the Wootton book is in no logical sense an answer to "The Road to Serfdom", whatever may be thought of the cogency of Hayek's argument, or the soundness of his position."