Friedrich Hayek: A Biography

From Publishers Weekly
This biography of the prominent economist-cum-political philosopher fills a significant hole in the intellectual history of the 20th century. Ebenstein blends an account of Hayek's personal life (1899-1992) with analysis of his thought, producing a chronological overview of a man praised by some for extraordinary commitment to his principles and dismissed by others as an ideologue. After a brief flirtation with Fabianism in his youth, Hayek embraced the free market and applied it to the problems of political organization. Emphasizing how the limits of individual knowledge undermine the capacity of human beings to make competent decisions beyond their immediate interests, he was an implacable foe of social or economic planning. With an impeccable libertarian r?sum? running from the Austrian school of economics to the Chicago school economists, and including a Nobel Prize in economics, Hayek parlayed his success as an economist into a career most often remembered for his political writing. Whole chapters of this biography are devoted to description and assessment of Hayek's major writings, and while the treatment is mostly friendly it is not uncritical. Ebenstein does not shy away from Hayek's single-mindedness: in a telling quotation, Hayek admits that when reading the work of others, "that part of the argument which is not sympathetic to me, I pass over." In the brief postscript, Ebenstein, author and coauthor of several books on political and economic thought, allows that the core of Hayek's position, his epistemology, was flawed. Yet the appeal of Hayek's arguments for liberty cannot be denied, and Ebenstein has made a significant contribution to understanding an important figure. 8 pages b&w photos. (Mar.) Forecast: This will be important reading for serious students of economics and political thought a fairly small market that will yield light if durable sales. Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Hayek is a perfect example of how economists fall in and out of favor. Hayek was born in 1899 in Austria but became a British citizen and taught at the London School of Economics and the University of Chicago. Hayek was a vocal opponent of government intervention in the marketplace and a critic of Keynesian welfare economics. His Road to Serfdom, published in 1944, laid out the contrarian argument that government programs only forestall economic collapse, which then allows totalitarianism to gain a foothold. Hayek was awarded the 1974 Nobel Prize in Economics; and in the 1980s his theories were used to justify British prime minister Margaret Thatcher's economic policies. Ebenstein is a graduate of the London School of Economics and the author of Today's Isms: Socialism, Capitalism, Fascism, Communism, Libertarianism (2000). His new work is not so much a biography of Hayek as it is a history of Hayek's ideas. Ebenstein categorizes Hayek's life by major events and locations to show how others influenced him and how he influenced those around him. David Rouse
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Washington Times, March 25, 2001
It offers an accessible and illuminating review of Hayek's life, philosophy, and accomplishments.


Washington Times, March 25, 2001
It offers an accessible and illuminating review of Hayek's life, philosophy, and accomplishments.


Houston Chronicle, April 1, 2001
Ebenstein does a good job of tracing Hayek's intellectual development from a collegiate freethinker to technical economist to political philosopher.


Book Description
This book tells the story of one of the most important public figures of the twentieth century. It is the first full biography of Friedrich Hayek, the Austrian economist who became, over the course of a remarkable career, the great philosopher of liberty in our time. In this richly detailed portrait, Alan Ebenstein chronicles the life, works, and legacy of a visionary thinker, from Hayek's early years as the scholarly son of a physician in fin-de-siecle Vienna on an increasingly wider world as an economist and political philosopher in Londom, New York, and Chicago. Ebenstein gives a balanced, integrated account of Hayek's extordinary diverse body of work, from his fist encounter with the free market ideas of mentor Ludwig Von Mises to his magisterial writings in later life on the legal, political, ethical, and economic requirements of a free society. Awarded the Nobel Prize in 1974, Hayek's vision of a renewed classical liberalism-of free markets and free ideas in free societies-has taken hold in much of the world. Alan Ebanstein's clearly written account is an essential starting point for anyone seeking to understand why Hayek's ideas have become the guiding force of our time. His illuminating portrait of Hayek the man brings to new life the spirit of a great scholar and tenacious advocate who has become, in Peter Drucker's words, "our time's preeminent social philosopher."


About the Author
Alan Ebenstein is a professor of economics and political theory. He is the author of several books.



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This biography of the Noble-prize winning economist and political philosopher tells of Hayek's childhood in Vienna, his career in Europe and the U.S., and his intellectual struggles as he attempted to identify the legal, political, ethical, and economic requirements of a free society. The book recounts Hayek's critiques of economic planning, his defense of classical liberalism, and his argument that all total systems end in tyranny. Ebenstein was trained as an economist at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)


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