U.S., Intel and the Road to Serfdom

Hayek warned of the danger of government ownership stakes in major companies.

Excerpt: "The Trump administration is pursuing federal ownership stakes in companies such as Intel and U.S. Steel, ostensibly to advance national security and domestic manufacturing. Yet these moves risk leading us down the road to serfdom that Friedrich Hayek warned against in 1944. Such actions pave the way for future administrations to impose DEI, environmental and regulatory mandates on businesses through back-door control.

Recent developments—a proposed stake in Intel to accelerate chip production, a “golden share” granting veto power over many of U.S. Steel’s decisions following its acquisition by Nippon Steel, and the Pentagon’s 15% equity in the rare-earth mining company MP Materials—would all expand federal control over the means of production. Hayek warns in “The Road to Serfdom” that state ownership threatens both prosperity and liberty. As he defined it, socialism involves state ownership and direction of the economy, which President Trump’s policies increasingly resemble.

Hayek recognized that government ownership of the economy centralizes decision-making, which is dangerous. Businesses operating in free markets are better at determining what to produce and in what volume. They also have a greater incentive to produce goods efficiently and to compete on price."