Hayek's Dictum

Paper Summary:

This paper examines A.F. Hayek's famous adage that the great aim of the struggle for liberty has been equality before the law. Principally, this paper examines Hayek's assertion by examining his work as well as the work of several other philosophers whose sentiments tend to substantiate his own views. This paper agrees with Hayek and supports his central contention that legal equality ensures genuine freedom. Beyond that, this paper also emphasizes the primacy that Hayek gives contract law in the protection and perpetuation of individual freedom and security.

From the Paper:

""The great aim of the struggle for liberty has been equality before the law." Equality before the law has been one of the great, ongoing struggles in Western democracies. Whether the civil rights movement in the United States, the women's movement throughout Europe and North America, or any of a host of other minorities that have struggled to achieve parity with other, more privileged citizens, equality in the eyes of the law has been a driving ambition of countless numbers of men and women. This paper examines the axiom that the true aim of the long struggle for liberty has been the establishment of equality before the law."

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