basket 0 items @ £0
View Basket

Friedrich Hayek

The ideas and influence of the libertarian economist

By Eamonn Butler
Cover of Friedrich Hayek (Paperback) by Eamonn Butler Cover of Friedrich Hayek (Ebook - phone) by Eamonn Butler Cover of Friedrich Hayek (Ebook - tablet) by Eamonn Butler

Free eBook with every Print Edition
Claim your free eBook now

Product Information

Format(s): -

ISBN(s): -

Published:

Edition:

Author:

No. of pages:

SKU(s): -

About the Author

Eamonn Butler

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, ... Read more on Eamonn Butler

Contents Listing

About the author

Introduction
- A timeline of F. A. Hayek's life and work

1. Hayek and his influence
2. Understanding society
3. Freedom and the law
4. The market process
5. Money, inflation, booms and busts
6. Psychology, science and sorcery
7. Why socialism was a mistake
8. The social justice myth
9. The foundations of a free society
10. The continuing evolution

Index
About the author

Introduction
- A timeline of F. A. Hayek's life and work

1. Hayek and his influence
2. Understanding society
3. Freedom and the law
4. The market process
5. Money, inflation, booms and busts
6. Psychology, science and sorcery
7. Why socialism was a mistake
8. The social justice myth
9. The foundations of a free society
10. The continuing evolution

Index

Jacket Text

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.

Professional Reviews

"This book is very good - ideal as an easy to read introduction to Hayek's ideas and influence for somebody who has heard of him but hasn't actually engaged with him before. The style, as always with Eamonn, is very clear and straightforward. I like the structure as well, which has a natural flow of subject matter and argument to it." - Dr Stephen Davies, Education Director, Institute of Economic Affairs

"A very good, and very accessible, introduction to the breadth of Hayek's thought" - Economic History Association

"An excellent primer...very readable. If only such easily digestible summaries were available for every important economist!" - Economic Research Council


Other books by this author

Cover of Milton Friedman by Eamonn Butler Cover of Milton Friedman by Eamonn Butler Cover of Milton Friedman by Eamonn Butler
Milton Friedman
From £12.99


Media Coverage

Adam Smith's Lost Legacy

The publisher describes Eamonn Butler?s ?Friedrich Hayek? as ?a breath of intellectual fresh air?. I concur, for Butler is refreshingly easy to read. He is a brilliant communicator and needs to be ...

Read more

An Englishman's Castle

Hayek and his ideas are still largely unknown even though they have been hugely influential in modern western economies. The average broadsheet reader could probably give a vague definition of ...

Read more

Conservative Home

Dr Eamonn Butler is Director of the Adam Smith Institute and author of the forthcoming book "Friedrich Hayek: The Ideas And Influence Of The Libertarian Economist" (Harriman House). Follow Eamonn on ...

Read more

Economic History Association

Reviewed for EH.Net by Steven Horwitz, Department of Economics, St. Lawrence University.

This short book by Eamonn Butler, Director of the Adam Smith Institute in London, is a very accessible and ...

Read more

Economic Research Council

If Guy Fraser-Sampson?s talk has inspired you to find out more about the ideas of Friedrich Hayek, then Dr Eamonn Butler?s excellent primer on the Austrian economist?s works would not be a bad place ...

Read more

Enter your email address to receive your free ebook

By requesting this free eBook, you agree to let us email you
about future Harriman House offers. We will not sell your details
to a third party and you can un-subscribe at any time.
A valid email address is required to receive your download link.