Liberty Versus Democracy in Bruno Leoni and Friedrich von Hayek

This article discusses the parallels between Friedrich von Hayek and Bruno Leoni’s criticisms of democracy. Both men were leading protagonists of the classical liberal tradition. The thesis contained of this paper is that Hayek, although critical of democratic systems that do not reconcile liberty and equality, still believed in the democratic principle and tried to save it. On the other hand, Leoni’s approach to democracy was much more radical and very close to some strands of modern libertarianism. In particular, he theorized a model of power virtually without coercion.