Hayek

Fülszöveg

Friedrich Hayek is one of the great liberal thinkers of the twentieth century, bút no book for the non-specialist has yet appeared, to describe his life and work and to explain their significance. This notable gap is now filled by Dr Eamonn Butler's clear, systematic and perceptive study. Starting with a short survey of Hayek's life, culminating in the award of the Nobel Prize, Dr Butler goes on to analyse all the main elements in his thought. Central to the whole structure is the concept of a free society as something which arises out of the actions of men and women, but which they do not consciously plan. Any attempt to construct a society, says Hayek, by social engineering or in accordance with somé preconceived idea , inevitably leads to a tyranny which cannot find room for the multitude of needs and wishes that motivate its members. Hayek sees the economic markét, on the other hand, as a system of communication. It provides a vast, world-wide network of information through... Tovább

Fülszöveg

Friedrich Hayek is one of the great liberal thinkers of the twentieth century, bút no book for the non-specialist has yet appeared, to describe his life and work and to explain their significance. This notable gap is now filled by Dr Eamonn Butler's clear, systematic and perceptive study. Starting with a short survey of Hayek's life, culminating in the award of the Nobel Prize, Dr Butler goes on to analyse all the main elements in his thought. Central to the whole structure is the concept of a free society as something which arises out of the actions of men and women, but which they do not consciously plan. Any attempt to construct a society, says Hayek, by social engineering or in accordance with somé preconceived idea , inevitably leads to a tyranny which cannot find room for the multitude of needs and wishes that motivate its members. Hayek sees the economic markét, on the other hand, as a system of communication. It provides a vast, world-wide network of information through which the price of a product is able to respond to a host of relevant factors and so indicate what should be produced, and the cost to society of its consumption. Dr Butler alsó discusses the central importance of the law in Hayek's thought, and the restraints that need to be placed on legislators. He outlines Hayek's objections to socialism, however well-intentioned, and his writings on a number of other topics, all building up into a whole coherent system of liberal thought. Having been decades ahead of his time when he began to write, Hayek has now come into his own and is proving to be one of the most seminal and influential thinkers of our age. Dr Butler's book allows the reader to understand why. Dr Eamonn Butler holds the degrees of MA and PhD from the University of St Andrews in Scotland. Formerly a research associate with the US House of Representatives and an instructor in philosophy at Hillsdale College, Michigan, he is currently Director of the Adam Smith Institute, a public policy research foundation operating in Britain and the United States. Dr Butler is co-author of Forty Centuries of Wáge and Price Controls and the author of other-works in economics and politics. Vissza