The Essence of Hayek

The twenty-one essays in this book provide an overview of the contributions of Nobel laureate and Hoover Institution honorary fellow Friedrich A. von Hayek to the fields of economics, political theory, history, and philosophy. Long known as one of the twentieth century's strongest defenders of the free market and the liberal social and economic order, Hayek, as the selections included here make apparent, bases his arguments on a rigorous philosophical analysis. A leading member of the Austrian School of Economics, Hayek has written on such diverse subjects as the business cycle, monetary theory, capital, economic and social organization, law, history, epistemology, the theory of science, and government. The body of his work in these varied fields is unified by two fundamental ideas—the limitation of knowledge and the spontaneous formation of systems. From these two concepts are derived his defense of the market, his rejection of socialism and other planned systems, and his devotion to the liberal political and social order.