From: Lee Corbin (lcorbin@tsoft.com)
Date: Sat May 31 2003 - 15:39:51 MDT
I had always sensed that reading Hayek could be rough
going, but I now finally have irrefutable proof. The
following sentence appears on page 10 of "The Road to
Serfdom":
The superficial and misleading view which sees in
National Socialism merely a reaction fomented by
those whose privileges or interest were threatened
by the advance of socialism was naturally supported
by all those who, although they were at one time
active in the movement of ideas that has led to
National Socialism, have stopped at some point of
that development and, by the conflict into which
this brought them with the Nazis, were forced to
leave their country.
What!? Now yes, I was television baby, and so many of the
19th century type sentences uttered by writers of the latter
century don't stick will enough in my short term memory to
enable me to follow them very well. And indeed, Hayek
was born in that now long-ago century. But here is a
20th century translation that I have achieved, by dropping
certain phrases, and converting them into self-standing
sentences:
There is a superficial and misleading view that sees
in Nazism merely a reaction by those whose privileges
or interests were threatened by socialism. This view
was naturally supported by people from a certain class,
namely, the class of those individuals who had at one
time themselves been National Socialists (in the early
days of that movement). They however had to abandon
their adherence to National Socialism when [other of
their beliefs or traits?] brought them into conflict
with the Nazis. Ultimately, many of these were forced
to leave their country [Germany, and come here, Britain].
Whew! I hope that I do not encounter more than one such
sentence per page in the remainder of the book!
Lee
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