The Road to Serfdom is a book written by Friedrich von Hayek (Nobel Memorial Prize in Social Sciences in 1974), the landscape of political thought, transformed in the 20th century, moving the contents of the debate for millions of people across the political spectrum. The Road to Serfdom is one of the most influential and popular expositions of classical liberalism and conservatism.

The title refers to the economic and political policies, which the author believes that inevitably lead to socio-economic condition known as “serfdom.”

The book was originally published by Routledge Press in March 1944 in the United Kingdom and then to the University of Chicago Press in September 1944. An abbreviated version of the book is written by Max Eastman was subsequently published as editorial in the April issue of Reader’s Digest, with a circulation of several million copies. This abridged version was then presented as a Book of the Month selection with a circulation of more than 600,000 copies. In February 1945, a picture book version was published in Look Magazine, later in a pamphlet and distributed by General Motors. The book was translated into about 20 languages and is dedicated to “socialists of all parties.” The opening of the 50th anniversary edition was written by Milton Friedman (another Nobel laureate in economics in 1976). In 2007 the University of Chicago Press a “definitive edition”. In total the book has sold over two million copies.

Although Glenn Beck may be onto something with this, he also may not.  He’s typically known for being sensational and a hype machine — so check out the book on your own volition.