From chapter 6 of his invaluable, and under-read, treatise, The Constitution of Liberty:
“It is neither because it assumes that people are in fact equal nor because it attempts to make them equal that the argument for liberty demands that government treat them equally. This argument not only recognizes that individuals are very different but in a great measure rests on that assumption. It insists that these individual differences provide no justification for government to treat them differently. And it objects to the differences in treatment by the state that would be necessary if persons who are in fact very different were to be assured equal positions in life.”
The protection of the individual sphere of voluntary interaction is the chief duty of government, anything more violates that principle for the sake of expediency.
Hat-tip to the person rereading Hayek with me, resulting in the the rediscovery of hidden gems like the one above.
