Hayek thought that all economic behavior (and by implication other human behavior) is based on fallible interpretations of what information is important and of its implications for the future. This epistemological idea animated not only his heterodox economic thought, but his ideal of the rule of law; his road-to-serfdom thesis; and his critique of the notion of social justice. However, the epistemological idea is a protean one that Hayek did not always handle carefully. This volume presents one of the most sophisticated critical reflections on Hayek ever assembled between two covers. This book was originally published as a special issue of Critical Review.

This book explores the life and work of Austrian-British economist, political economist, and social philosopher, Friedrich Hayek. Set within a context of the recent financial crisis, alongside the renewed interest in Hayek and the Hayek-Keynes debate, the book introduces the main themes of Hayek’s thought. These include the division of knowledge, the importance of rules, the problems with planning and economic management, and the role of constitutional constraints in enabling the emergence of unplanned order in the market by limiting the perverse incentives and distortions in information often associated with political discretion. Key to understanding Hayek's development as a thinker is his emphasis on the knowledge problem that economic decision makers face and how alternative institutional arrangements either hinder or assist them in overcoming that epistemic dilemma. Hayek saw order emerging from individual action and responsibility under the appropriate institutional order that itself emerges from actors discovering new and better ways to coordinate their behavior. This book will be of interest to all those keen to gain a deeper understanding of this great 20th century thinker in economics.

F. A. Hayek and the Epistemology of Politics is an exploration of a problem that has largely been ignored: the problem of policymaker ignorance, and the limits of political epistemology. Scott Scheall explores Hayek's attitude to the philosophy of science and political philosophy.

Recent years have witnessed a remarkable revival in Hayek's reputation as an economist, a political philosopher, and an intellectual historian. This book shows why this revival has taken place by demonstrating the continuing relevance and vitality of Hayek's ideas. A group of internationally known scholars, of both the left and the right, critically assess his contribution to economics, political philosophy, legal theory, cognitive psychology and the history of ideas.

The twenty-one essays in this book provide an overview of the contributions of Nobel laureate Hayek to the fields of economics, political theory, history and philosophy. A leading member of the Austrian School of Economics and a defender of the free market and the liberal social and economic order, Hayek has written on such diverse subjects as the business cycle, monetary theory, capital, economic and social organization, law history, epistemology, the theory of science and government. His writings in various fields are unified by two fundamental ideas -- the limitation of knowledge and the spontaneous formation of systems. ISBN 0-8179-8011-3 : $27.50.