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Fall 2007

ISSN 0890-913X

Volume 23, Number 1

Categories: Marketing | Fall 2007

Hayek on Labor Unions: Coercion and the Rule of Law

Charles W. Baird, California State University Hayward

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JournalofPrivateEnterprise,VolumeXXIII,Number1,Fall2007HayekonLaborUnions:CoercionandtheRuleofLawCharlesW.Baird'CaliforniaStateUniversity,EastBayItisprobably...impossibleinourtimeforastudenttobeatruefiiendoflabourandtohavethereputationofbeingone(Hayek[1959]1967,p.294).IntroductionAsthisepigraphimplies,unionshaveamuchbetterreputationthantheydeserve.Eventoday(2007)amajorityofthegeneralpublicthinksthatlaborunionsarethebestfriendthatanyworkingmanorwomancouldhave.Thatissimplywrong,andinFriedrichHayek'swritingsonunions,fromMonetagNationalismandInternationalStability([1937]1972,pp.21-2)whereinhefirstnotedtheinflationarydangersofcollectivebargaining,to1980sUnemploymentandtheUnions(1980),whichArthurSeldoncharacterizedasthesummationofHayek'steachingonunions([1980]1984,p.9),Hayekexplainedwhy.Hearguedthatwhileunionsbenefitedsomeworkers,itwasalwaysattheexpenseofotherworkers,andthatasawhole,unionshavemadeworkerssignificantlyworseoffthantheywouldotherwisehavebeen.Moreover,hesawunionsastheywere(and,inlargemeasure,astheystillare)inBritainandtheU.S.asmajorthreatstothefreeeconomyaswellasthefreesocietyingeneral.Heendorsedvoluntaryunionismongroundsoffreedomofassociationproperlyunderstood,buthesawactualunionsinbothcountriesaswhollyinvoluntaryorganizationstowhichpoliticianshadgranted*IthankRichardEbeling,presidentoftheFoundationforEconomicEducation,forprovidingmostofthereferencesIhaveusedinthisessay.RichardisbetterthanGooglewhenitcomestotheliteratureofliberty.CharlesW.Baird30

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Title	Hayek on Labor Unions: Coercion and the Rule of Law
Authors/Creators:	Charles W. Baird, California State University Hayward
Year:	2007
Volume:	23
Number:	1
Pages:	31 - 51
Publisher:	The Association of Private Enterprise Education
ISSN:	0890-913X
Document Type:	Articles
Keywords:	Freedom of association, Freedom of contract, Hayek, Labour Market, Rule of Law, Political market, Economic reform, Standard of living

Citation:
Baird, Charles W. / 2007. "Hayek on Labor Unions: Coercion and the Rule of Law." The Journal of Private Enterprise, 23(1): 31-51.