The ideas and influence of the libertarian economist

By Eamonn Butler

Friedrich Hayek was one of the leading economists of the 20th century and the leading contemporary critic of Keynes. He did pioneering work on monetary theory and trade cycles, but achieved international fame through his 1944 critique of totalitarian socialism, The Road to Serfdom.
He went on to map out the principles of a free society in a series of books including Law, Legislation and Liberty and became the leading proponent, along with Milton Friedman, of economic and political liberalism.

Setting him in context as well as incorporating criticism since his death 20 years ago, this book explores several major areas of Hayek’s thought and argument:

– why society is not something that can be rebuilt any way we want, but is the result of long-term cultural evolution, and what that means for political reform, morality and individual choice
– the kind of laws that true freedom relies upon, and how freedom and its benefits are threatened by political confusions
– how the market process really works: from maximising gains for everyone who participates, to competition as a discovery process
– where boom and bust cycles come from and how privatising currencies could be the startling solution
– how we actually interpret our world, and what this means for social sciences and politics
– why socialism was a mistake, capitalism isn’t wasteful, and what economic organisation has to do with political destiny
– the impossibility of social justice but the genuine hope offered by true economic freedom
– what the real foundations of a free society look like.

A breath of intellectual fresh air, this concise guide to Friedrich Hayek is a must for any reader or student interested in one of the most vital minds of the 20th century.

Dr Eamonn Butler is director of the Adam Smith Institute, a London-based think tank dealing in market economic policy. He has an MA in Economics and Psychology from the University of St Andrews, and a PhD in Philosophy from St Andrews.

Dr Butler's most recent books include Friedrich Hayek (Harriman House, 2012), The Best Book on the Market (Capstone, 2008), Milton Friedman (Harriman House, 2011), Adam Smith: A Primer (Institute of Economic Affairs, 2007) and Rotten State of Britain (Gibson Square, 2009).

Earlier books include Ludwig von Mises: Fountainhead Of The Modern Microeconomics Revolution (Gower, 1988) and Forty Centuries of Wage and Price Controls (co-authored with Robert L. Schuettinger, Green Hill Publishers, 1979). With Dr Madsen Pirie, he is also author of a number of popular books on IQ published by Pan. Since 1979 he has co-authored and edited a number of publications on economic and policy issues for the Adam Smith Institute.

Dr Butler writes regularly on economics for leading newspapers. In 2012 he received an Honorary D.Litt from Heriot-Watt University.