Dear Mr Lineker,
In the light of your recent comments attempting to associate the current government’s plans to prevent illegal migration with the Nazi ideology of the 1930s, I would like to invite you to participate in an event being organised by the Institute of Economic Affairs.
This will be a panel discussion revisiting Friedrich Hayek’s famous book The Road to Serfdom, published in 1944. The aim of the event will be to discuss the central thesis of this work. Namely, that the advent of fascism in Germany and his native Austria was the outcome of the ways in which the state had assumed incrementally ever more control over the economy from the late nineteenth century. This dangerous concentration of power was hugely accelerated by the First World War and continued into the Weimar period.
The Nazis built upon an edifice of government regulation that had been established for them, making the transition to a one-party state a much simpler task. There were few centres of thought and operation truly independent of those in political authority. A culture of compliance with and dependence upon, the state had long been established.
Our event on 22nd May will investigate not only the extent to which a high degree of state interference during Covid may have contributed to a climate of opinion that is more susceptible to political authoritarianism, but also ideological developments such as ‘cancel culture’ and the growth of conspiracy theories.
If you are serious about your concerns regarding the UK government’s approach to immigration, why not come and offer your views in the respectful climate of free discussion and debate that our event will offer?
Best wishes,
Marc Glendening – Head of Cultural Affairs, Institute of Economic Affairs
