To understand the importance of the famous debate between Hayek and Keynes, you need to take the "meta" view to take the debate in the context of what was happening at the time. As often happens, the real issue was hidden beneath what was ostensibly being debated. See David Colander .

The best way to understand an issue is sometimes to follow the debate rather than just one "side." I had bogged down trying to understand Monetary Theory (Modern or otherwise). This is an introduction to the thinking of David Colander. I tripped over him when reading " Modern Monetary Theory and its Critics ." Colander presents himself as a "Historian of Ideas." He is a "big picture" guy who tries to understand ideas in depth but also concerning their real historical consequence. For example, he points out that if MMT were applied by, say, the Tea Party, the result would be a nightmare (zero tax, no government). This provides a simple example of one assumption behind all economic "recommendations" - that the supporters are in political power - more or less permanently . After plodding through endless economic arguments, I also get a whiff of "motivated reasoning." Beware of all statements that include o ther things being equ...

This  is Milton Friedman on the concepts that are defended in Hayek's "Road to Serfdom." Hayek's thesis is interesting but also dated. He warns against top-down planning in the place of market control of prices, both by Socialists and Fascists of the time. George Bernard Shaw introduced me to Socialism 101  (" A Practical Woman's Guide to Socialism )." It dates from approximately the same period but is concerned with social justice. There is little consideration of how social justice would be achieved. We must assume a major reorganization of the economy according to some master plan. As Hayek pointed out, both Socialists and Fascists assumed this with little pushback. During World War II, economies became "planned" by necessity. It turns out that " Road to Serfdom " is a free Audiobook. See these videos for discussions. General Impression:  Hayek goes to great lengths to defend his thesis that totalitarian "planning" is ...