No, I don’t think Paul would disagree with Hayek’s economic theory, or even very much with his social theorizing on the rule of law…
But by some weird providence, as soon as I got done listening to The Road to Serfdom I put my recording of the Romans back in the cd player and realized I was hearing about the same issues at their point of origin.
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations… In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named… Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ!
When you read Hayek it becomes clear that he is lamenting how history has changed directions. What should have been the flowering of Christian civilization has been traded for a bowl of red stuff.
And because he himself, despite acknowledging that Christian culture happened to be involved, is not a disciple of Jesus, Hayek can’t really call anyone back to what they had. He weeps over a cut flower and pleads with it to bloom again.
Hayek analyzed some elements of it and defended them, as much as a Darwinist could–but it was the Apostle Paul who gave us the international social order of peace, freedom, and prosperity. If you read The Road to Serfdom and then read Paul’s letter to the Romans, this basic truth will become forcefully apparent.
And just in case anyone doesn’t know what I mean by the “hip hop” reference:
YouTube – “Fear the Boom and Bust” a Hayek vs. Keynes Rap Anthem.