cover image Hayek on Hayek: An Autobiographical Dialogue

Hayek on Hayek: An Autobiographical Dialogue

Friedrich A. Von Hayek. University of Chicago Press, $35 (177pp) ISBN 978-0-226-32062-5

Champion of a free-market economy as a prerequisite to a free society, Friedrich August von Hayek (1899-1992) fought a losing battle against the centralizing policies of John Maynard Keynes. Nevertheless, the Vienna-born libertarian economist and political philosopher, who moved to London in 1931 and taught at the University of Chicago from 1950 to 1962, saw some of his ideas vindicated by the collapse of communism. Hayek's tough-minded approach to welfare reform and his belief that private enterprises should be allowed to compete with government make his views timely. In this feisty self-portrait, splicing autobiographical sketches and selected interviews, the 1974 Nobel Prize winner settles scores with Keynes and Harold Laski, discusses his affinity for his adopted country, Britain, and delves into monetary policy. Kresge is general editor of Hayek's collected works; Wenar is a Ph.D. candidate at Harvard. (May)