Hayek's Journey: The Mind of Friedrich Hayek

From Publishers Weekly
The author of an eponymous biography of the influential 20th-century political thinker and economist Friedrich Hayek (1899-1992), Ebenstein here delivers an analysis of the intellectual influences and legacy of this philosopher of liberty. Covering much of Hayek's philosophy beyond his continuing currency in monetary and trade cycle theory, this volume serves as an illuminating supplement to Ebenstein's previous book. "Nobody can be a great economist who is only an economist," Hayek remarked, and Ebenstein elaborates on this assertion, exploring the evolution of Hayek's ideas from a childhood among Darwinists to his flirtation with Vienna Circle thinkers (such as his cousin Ludwig Wittgenstein), to his relationships with Karl Popper and the Chicago School of Economics. Though often repetitive and unclear in his analysis of the pure philosophical elements in Hayek's background, Ebenstein traces Hayek's intellectual relationship to political thinkers such as Mill, Marx and Keynes with an erudite clarity. Crowned by a series of chapters examining Hayek's later political works, this deeply researched and well-documented intellectual history lays out the classical liberal discussions of Hayek's lifetime and offers a compelling and scholarly critical examination of the current debates in the Hayek literature. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Review
"...offers a compelling and scholarly critical examination of the current debates in the Hayek literature."--Publishers Weekly Annex



Review
"...offers a compelling and scholarly critical examination of the current debates in the Hayek literature."--Publishers Weekly Annex



Book Description
Hayek's Journey is a philosophical, intellectual exploration of Hayek's comprehensive life work. Tracing Hayek's intellectual journey from Vienna at the turn of the 20th century through London, Chicago, and Freiburg, Hayek's Journey provides a deeper understanding and exploration of Hayek's thought than previously attempted. Special attention is given to Hayek's intellectual relationships with Carl Menger, Ludwig von Mises, John Maynard Keynes, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Karl Popper, and Milton Friedman. Hayek's Journey presents Hayek as an economist, political philosopher, and pure philosopher. Particular consideration is given also to development of Hayek's final work, The Fatal Conceit. In Hayek's Journey, Hayek emerges as a thinker and writer of the greatest depth and importance.



About the Author
Alan Ebenstein is a professor of economics and political theory. He is the author of several books including Friedrich Hayek: A Biography.



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As A Follow-Up to His Brilliant biography of Friedrich Hayek, Alan Ebenstein takes readers on a deeper journey into the mind of the man who was, arguably, one of the most brilliant thinkers of the twenticth century. Going beyond the story of Hayek's life, Hayek's Journcy gives readers an in-depth look at the evolution of his thought. In individual chapters devoted to the great influences on Hayek, Ebenstein looks at the Austrian School of Economics, Ludwig von Mises, John Maynard Keynes, Karl Popper, Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, and others. By working forward from these great influences to the great works of Hayek's oeuvre like The Road to Scrfdom and The Constitution of Liberty, Ebenstein builds a complex intellectual portrait of the theorist who has had a greater effect on late twentieth century economic and political thought than any other. This is a classic of Hayek scholarship written in readable prose by his biographer. Anyone who read Alan Ebenstein's biography of Hayek will want this brilliant companion volume to complete the portrait of a complex and influential thinker.


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