The idea of central planning and collectivism may seem progressive and efficient. It removes any unnecessary parts of the system and as a result, would provide better than the current system and create a just and fair system. However, this act would instead undermine the well-being of those under the government and take away personal freedom. In Friedrich Hayek’s book The Road to Serfdom, it is said that many governments will aim to fall towards this collectivism as people begin to take their freedoms and prosperity for granted. He argues that this path of collectivism will lead to loss of freedom as well as unfair policies that undermine the people similar to the governments of Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia.
In Hayek’s book, he states that full government control will not work because while the government may have a plan their goals will not align with everyone else's personal goals for the government. Essentially removing the input from the common people and destroying the rule of law so that the government is no longer bound by any constraints. This planning will cause workers to become cogs in a machine and a loss of personal voice and even living wages of those who oppose the new system. Hayek even argues that powerful positions will fall in the hands of those who crave power and not the ones best fit for it. This will in turn create more government control and in many cases death on a large scale for those who are thought to oppose the system.
While it may seem extreme, his predictions have been seen taking shape since his book was first published. While Hayek states that the movement towards collectivism is not for certain and can be avoided up to a certain point, it seems that this is an uphill battle. It is easier to give up control of something than to fight for it, and when people are comfortable they are in a vulnerable state. Many governments post world war two have at the very least suggested socialist policies and many governments are starting to implement policies such as socialist healthcare. Many U.S citizens are also pushing for larger government control in areas such as healthcare and voting. These may seem like small things that don’t seem related to totalitarian governments such as Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union. Yet they are small steps towards such systems, and I believe these steps shouldn’t be taken without much consideration for our country's future.