Abstract
This chapter examines Hayek’s 1944 visit to the British colony of Gibraltar and his subsequent proposals for how Gibraltar’s economy should be organized in the post-war era. Drawing upon hitherto underused materials from The National Archives in London and the Gibraltar Government Archives, we see how Hayek conceived that several of the themes of The Road to Serfdom, published in the same year, might be put into practice. However, Hayek’s ideas were rejected. They were too controversial—Hayek proposed using market forces to relocate Gibraltarians across the frontier into Spain—and they ran contrary to what was considered good colonial governance at the time which incorporated social welfare systems and economic planning, both of which Hayek, and his proposals, stood in opposition to.
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- 1.
- 2.
Throughout, the term ‘Secretary of State for the Colonies’ refers to the minister in London with responsibility for the Colonial Office. The term ‘Colonial Secretary’ refers to the officer locally responsible for Gibraltar’s civil administration.
- 3.
Gibraltar Government Archive (hereafter GGA), Book Files, 0957-1200. ‘Report on Repatriation and Welfare in Gibraltar.’
- 4.
For housing conditions before the war, see Constantine (2009, 332–337).
- 5.
GGA Book File 0001-0300. ‘Labour Conditions in Gibraltar, Report by Major Orde Brown.’
- 6.
GGA, Book File 0001-0300. ‘Letter from Miles Clifford, Colonial Secretary, Gibraltar, to A. B. Acheson, Assistant Secretary, Colonial Office.’ 20 June 1944.
- 7.
The National Archive/Public Record Office (hereafter PRO), Colonial Office files (hereafter CO), 91/522/2. Minute by Andrew B. Acheson. 24 January 1945.
- 8.
This report can be found in PRO CO 91/522/2.
- 9.
PRO CO 91/522/2. ‘Governor to the Secretary of State for the Colonies.’ September 1944 [exact date not recorded, though Hayek submitted his report on 8 September, so the despatch must have been sent in the weeks that followed, and the report was received in the Colonial Office on 21 September 1944].
- 10.
PRO CO 91/522/1. ‘Minute by Stephen Elliott Vyvyan Luke.’ 2 February 1945.
- 11.
PRO CO 91/522/1. ‘Minute by Dr. Rene Kuczynski.’ 26 February 1945.
- 12.
PRO CO 91/522/1. ‘Minute by Dr. Rene Kuczynski.’ 25 March 1945.
- 13.
Ibid.
- 14.
Ibid. ‘Minute by S. E. V. Luke’ and subsequent response by Government of Gibraltar. 4 April 1945.
- 15.
PRO CO 888/3. Colonial Labour Advisory Committee Minutes, 1944–1946, pp. 9–10. ‘Statement by Major Orde Brown to the Colonial Labour Advisory Committee.’
- 16.
PRO CO 91/522/1. ‘Minute by Andrew B. Acheson.’ 25 January 1945.
- 17.
PRO CO 91/522/1. Eastwood to Oliver Stanley. 26 April 1944.
- 18.
GGA Book Files 0401-0440. Letter from Stanley to Eastwood. 29 September 1944.
- 19.
Ibid.
- 20.
Ibid.
- 21.
PRO CO 888/3. Colonial Labour Advisory Committee, papers and minutes 1944–1946. ‘Minute by Miss Fisher. 22 December 1945.’
- 22.
PRO, CO 91/522/2. ‘Some Economic Problems of Gibraltar,’ pp. 8–9.
- 23.
GGA Book Files 0401-0440. Note made by Mr. Hughes. 3 February 1945.
- 24.
Ibid.
- 25.
PRO CO 91/522/3. ‘Letter from the Governor of Gibraltar to the Secretary of State for the Colonies.’ 24 May 1945.
- 26.
PRO CO 91/522/3. ‘Letter from the Governor of Gibraltar to the Secretary of State for the Colonies.’ 30 June 1945.
- 27.
Ibid.
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Grocott, C. (2018). On the Rock: Hayek’s 1944 Proposals for the Gibraltar Economy. In: Leeson, R. (eds) Hayek: A Collaborative Biography. Archival Insights into the Evolution of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91358-2_5
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