Customer Reviews (3)

Hayek at his best
Hayek is best known for his book The Road to Serfdom and his 1945 article The Use of Knowledge in Society. These are fine works, but this collection of essays is exceptional. Rules, Perception, and Intelligibility (chapter 3) is a brilliant discussion of the limits of human knowledge and comprehension. This is in the philosophy section of this book, but it is important to understanding Hayekian economics. The Theory of Complex Phenomena (chapter 2) draws upon Popper and makes many interesting points, such as how learning leads to greater awareness of our ignorance. The result of Human Action, but not of Human Design (chapter 6) makes the importance of the evolutionary-spontaneous order conception of society clear. The Intellectuals and Socialism (chapter 12) and The Transmission of the Ideals of Freedom address important but largely neglected issues on how ideas shape events. The Principles of a Liberal Order (chapter 11) ties the ideas of limited government and complex spontaneous orders together. The Non Sequitur of the Dependence Effect (chapter 23) is a brilliant demolition of Galbraith's Affluent Society. Hayek proves that while Galbraith was right about how preferences evolve, he simply arrived at the wrong conclusions. The Corporation in a Democratic Society (chapter 22) confirms Milton Friedman's contention that corporations must pursue profits rather than `vague and un-definable social responsibility'.

Why is this book out of print? I got a used copy, but it is hard to find. The rarity of this book is problematic. I know some people who know Hayek pretty well who have never heard of some of the essays in this book. `Studies' is better than Hayek's subsequent `New Studies' compilation and comparable to Individualism and Economic Order. The essays in this book demonstrate the greatness of Hayek's' scholarship.

Still a leading selection of fundamental articles
Today there's flood of articles that try to explain how transactions work under asymmetric information. They are related to the question for the design, for example, of rules that guarantee a so-called "first best solution". I think there are many unanswered question here: How can you measure first best situations? Is it recommendable to do such investigations, when there's a situation with asymmetric information, where you don't know what an unexpected change of information may implicate? And finally, how can we assume that the economist has the overall view on how things are working?

All these questions have normative and methodological aspects. "Studies..." gives you a very interesting view on the limitations of our understanding regarding the mechanisms of the economy. However, Hayeks liberal approach makes it understandable why laws, orders and rules have their limitations: First best solutions cannot be achieved because rules themselves are incomplete.

My favorite articles are "Degrees of Explanation" (methodologically oriented paper) and "The Cooperation in a Democratic Society: In Whose Interest Ought It To and Will It Be Run?" (normative approach). Here you'll find a deeper understanding of economics.

Hayek's Liberalism
This book is very important if one is planning to study Hayek. This book contains all the seed of his subsequent studies. All Hayek books, written after 1967, refers to this book. Certain item in his subsequent studies areeven hard to understand without a reference to "Studies .........". Therefore a reprint of this book is important. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Worthwhile sequel to The Constitution of Liberty
The following passage sums up the entire book quite well: "[I]n...a system in which each is allowed to use his knowledge for his own purposes the concept of `social justice' is necessarily empty and meaningless, because in it nobody's will can determine the relative incomes of the different people, or prevent that they be partly dependent on accident.`Social justice' can be given a meaning only in a directed or `command' economy (such as an army) in which the individuals are ordered what to do; and any particular conception of `social justice' could be realized only in such a centrally directed system.It presupposes that people are guided by specific directions and not by rules of just individual conduct.Indeed, no system of rules of just individual conduct, and therefore no free action of the individuals, could produce results satisfying any principle of distributive justice...In a free society in which the position of the different individuals and groups is not the result of anybody's design--or could, within such a society, be altered in accordance with a generally applicable principle--the differences in reward simply cannot meaningfully be described as just or unjust." (pp. 69-70)

As with Robert Nozick (and with John Locke before them), justice is for Hayek a matter of process rather than results.

Law, Legislation, and Liberty was intended as a sequel to The Constitution of Liberty, in that Hayek wrote it to "fill in the gaps" that he felt existed in his argument in that earlier work.He wrote and published Law, Legislation, and Liberty on and off over a time-span of approximately 15 years (early-mid 1960 to mid-late 1970s), which were in part interrupted by ill health.Hayek admits that the result is at times repetitive and lacking in organization.The reason why he did not go through the effort of redoing the entire work upon completion is because he thought he might at that rate never finish it (he was 80 years old by the time volume 3 was published).

There are still plenty of great insights, which Hayek argues persuasively and in doing so manages to portray as common sense.There are also plenty of flashes of that true rhetorical brilliance characteristic of Hayek that can make his writings such a feast to the ear and mind.On the downside, however, these rhetorical gems are hidden in a large volume of pages that at times do indeed seem tedious, repetitive, and unorganized, unlike with The Constitution of Liberty, where they literally seem to jump off the page at you.All in all, read The Constitution of Liberty first, as Hayek himself suggests.And if you're not up for reading the approximately 500 pages that make up the complete Law, Legislation, and Liberty, two chapters (30 pages total) in the book The Essence of Hayek make for a comprehensive summary exposition of the ideas in the entire trilogy ("Principles of a Liberal Social Order", ch. 20 in The Essence of Hayek, covers vols. 1-2, and "Whither Democracy?", ch. 19, covers vol. 3).

Readable Hayek
Don't be put off from reading Hayek just because some authors and reviewers say his work is complicated and technical.Most of Hayek's writings are edited versions of speeches he has given to various audiences. His work is very readable, and I have found enormous benefit from just reading a chapter at one reading, and taking the work up again at another time.

Hayek's work should be found in both the classroom and on the coffee table.

F.A. Hayek does it again... The Wisdom of an Old Whig
Today, it seems everyone from Patrick Buchanan to Jessie Jackson are extoling the ideal of "social justice." But where did this insidious concept emerge. In the third and final installment in Hayek's Law, Legislation and Liberty series, Hayek delivers a knock out blow to the the notions of "social justice" or "distributive justice." He examines its socialistic roots and intellectual origins, which ensued after the egalitarian fervor in post-1791 Europe. He critiques new economic and social policy, which has emerged in the wake of the "social justice" phenemenon. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description
This digital document is an article from National Tax Journal, published by National Tax Association on March 1, 1995. The length of the article is 5121 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the author: This paper explores the implications of the work of the late Friedrich Hayek for taxation policy. Hayek's writings on the limits of rationality, the role of rules, and the limits of majority rule are examined it is argued that Hayek's work here provides general support for broad-based nondiscriminatory tax policies but can be interpreted as cautioning against either radical or frequent changes in tax policy. His work also makes clear the importance of focusing on the institutional context of tax policy formulation. Hayek's approach is compared here with that of mainstream economists and that of James Buchanan.

Citation Details
Title: On Friedrich Hayek and taxation: rationality, rules, and majority rule.
Author: Michael W. Spicer
Publication: National Tax Journal (Refereed)
Date: March 1, 1995
Publisher: National Tax Association
Volume: 48Issue: n1Page: 103-112

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Book Description
This digital document is an article from Southern Economic Journal, published by Southern Economic Association on April 1, 1995. The length of the article is 1305 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Economics of Friedrich Hayek. (book reviews)
Author: Roger W. Garrison
Publication: Southern Economic Journal (Refereed)
Date: April 1, 1995
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Volume: v61Issue: n4Page: p1234(3)

Article Type: Book Review

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This digital document is an article from New Criterion, published by Thomson Gale on May 1, 2007. The length of the article is 3806 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Hayek & the intellectuals.(Friedrich A. Hayek)(Critical essay)
Author: Roger Kimball
Publication: New Criterion (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 25Issue: 9Page: 4(6)

Article Type: Critical essay

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This digital document is an article from Revista de Ciencias Sociales, published by Universidad de Costa Rica on June 1, 2003. The length of the article is 9390 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: La crítica de Franz J. Hinkelammert a Friedrich A. Von Hayek. El marco categorial del pensamiento neoliberal.
Author: Yohnny Azofeifa Sánchez
Publication: Revista de Ciencias Sociales (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 1, 2003
Publisher: Universidad de Costa Rica
Issue: 100Page: 133(14)

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Book Description
This digital document is an article from Independent Review, published by Independent Institute on January 1, 2000. The length of the article is 5072 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Does Hayek Speak to Asia?(economic philosopher Friedrich A. Hayek)
Author: Chandran Kukathas
Publication: Independent Review (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 2000
Publisher: Independent Institute
Volume: 4Issue: 3Page: 419

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This digital document is an article from Policy Review, published by Hoover Institution Press on June 22, 1994. The length of the article is 4693 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the supplier: Friedrich Hayek's book 'The Road to Serfdom' anticipated the detrimental effects of big government in the West. Hayek felt a reliance on big government and an increase in power and duties for the public sector would cause free nations such as the US and the UK to disintegrate the way fascist Germany and Communist Russia did. Hayek believed that growth in government was inversely proportional to a decrease in individual freedom.

Citation Details
Title: Serfdom USA: how far have we traveled down Hayek's "Road?" (author Friedrich Hayek's 'The Road to Serfdom')
Author: Richard K. Armey
Publication: Policy Review (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 1994
Publisher: Hoover Institution Press
Issue: n69Page: p14(8)

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Book Description
This digital document is an article from Independent Review, published by Independent Institute on September 22, 2001. The length of the article is 2398 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Friedrich Hayek: a Biography. (Book Reviews).
Author: Caldwell. Bruce
Publication: Independent Review (Refereed)
Date: September 22, 2001
Publisher: Independent Institute
Volume: 6Issue: 2Page: 263(5)

Article Type: Book Review

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