Professor Friedrich von Hayek once recalled feeling “a deep sense of loneliness as an academic” during the period from the 1940s to the 1970s, when left-wing ideas gained immense popularity in Britain and across Europe.
[…] Leftist thinking is likely to be accepted by anyone except exceptional people because it saves energy, is easy, and is comfortable.
Humans are more interested in the near future than in the distant future, and are more attracted to their own interests than to the interests of society or the whole.
So, leftist thinking is popular in any society.
--- p.39

So, are people accustomed to leftist thinking truly morally superior to others? In fact, all humans are so similar that it's almost as if they're all the same.
Even those who claim, “I am completely flawless,” are not as morally and ethically clean as they claim to be when you look deep inside.
People with particularly leftist thinking cannot be seen as superior in terms of morality or ethics as they claim.
Humans, whether left or right, are just sinful humans.
The story is that there are bright sides, but there are also just as many dark sides.
--- p.94

Government intervention is increasing in all areas, and governments are infringing on the freedoms of others to help some.
Those who benefit are only happy with the small gains, and few notice the harm that the loss of freedom would bring.
Few people pay attention to the problems of a society that has lost the foundation of freedom that enables creative activity in all areas.
Who could possibly know that we are on the path to a stagnant society, content with a uniform supply due to excessive government intervention? Only a few people realize they are on the path to slavery or grasp the meaning of this loss until they experience the full impact of the loss of freedom.
The foundations of a free society are extremely fragile unless a majority of people believe that all policies and institutions must be "plans for freedom."
--- p.165

The desire to drastically raise the minimum wage to protect those on low wages is also a typical characteristic of those with leftist thinking.
It is easy to predict how many people will immediately benefit from the rapid increase in the minimum wage and to what extent they will benefit from the minimum wage increase policy.
However, they overlook the fact that these wage increases may cause potential new entrants to the market as entrepreneurs to either forgo entry due to rising labor costs or reduce the number of people they intend to hire.
The fact that a double-digit minimum wage increase in one year would dampen something as invisible as the motivation of the self-employed is not something that catches the eye of those with leftist thinking.
In their eyes, only those who receive more money are included.
--- pp.201-202

The ideas and beliefs that dominate an era belong to the intellectual infrastructure of a society.
During the era of prosperity, the mainstream of Korean society overlooked the importance of invisible ideas.
It may be too late to reverse the massive flow of leftist thinking that has steadily accumulated over the past 20 years.
It's not impossible, but it will take a lot of effort.
After experiencing an emergency situation like an economic crisis, I expect that citizens will realize that it is not easy to escape such a situation with government intervention.
By the time we reach that realization, the environment surrounding Korea will have changed significantly.
I'm worried that it might end up like raising your hand after the bus has left.
When healthy thinking collapses, visible material things also collapse.
I prepared this book in the hope that more citizens will overcome their instincts before greater difficulties arise.

--- p.292