 .The
Fatal Conceit : The Errors of Socialism (The Collected Works of
F.A. Hayek, Vol 1) by W. W.
Bartley (Editor), Friedrich
A. Hayek
This soberly written book by a Nobel Laureate
economist is a summary of the author's thoughts on socialism,
knowledge in society, and the evolution of society and what he
calls the "extended order" (roughly the interconnected
system of transactions that make up the economy). The main
argument about cultural evolution is more tantalizingly
interesting than conclusively thought out, but anybody
interested in history, sociology, economics, politics or even
evolution and ethnic differences in modern societies should find
fascinating ideas here. My personal opinion is that the work can
be fruitfully coupled with several of Thomas Sowell´s books,
but I'm sure other people will have other perspectives on the
work just as interesting. As for economics, the book works out
the calculation argument against socialism, an economic argument
that to people who have read Austrian economics is perhaps the
most impressive and thorough argument against communism or
socialism ever articulated. If one supports socialist ideals,
which Hayek, the author, did in his youth, one should really
take this argument into serious consideration. It claims, a
claim central to the evolutionary thesis, that socialism as such
is simply a misguided attempt to correct a misunderstood system
(the market economy) that solves problems (allocation of goods,
coordination of economic activities, etc.) unsolvable by any
other means. Stimulating, original and well written, the book is
strongly recommended.... -- Anonymous review.
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by Peter J. Boettke
Excerpt:
Friedrich A. Hayek, who died on March 23, 1992, at the
age of 92, was probably the most prodigious classical liberal scholar of
the 20th century. Though his 1974 Nobel prize was in Economic Science, his
scholarly endeavors extended well beyond economics. He published 130
articles and 25 books ranging from technical economics to theoretical
psychology, from political philosophy to legal anthropology, and from the
philosophy of science to the history of ideas. Hayek was no mere dabbler;
he was an accomplished scholar in each of these fields of inquiry. He made
major contributions to our understanding in at least three different
areas-government intervention, economic calculation under socialism, and
development of the social structure. It is unlikely that we will see the
likes of such a wide-ranging scholar of the human sciences again.
Hayek was born into a family of intellectuals in Vienna
on May 8,1899. He earned doctorates from the University of Vienna (1921
and 1923). During the early years of the 20th century the theories of the
Austrian School of Economics, sparked by Menger's Principles of
Economics (1871), were gradually being formulated and refined by Eugen
Boehm-Bawerk, his brother-in-law, Friedrich Wieser, and Ludwig von Mises.
When Hayek attended the University of Vienna, he sat in on one of Mises'
classes, but found Mises' anti-socialist position too strong for his
liking. Wieser was a Fabian socialist whose approach was more attractive
to Hayek at the time, and Hayek became his pupil. Yet, ironically it was
Mises, through his devastating critique of socialism published in 1922,
who turned Hayek away from Fabian socialism...
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