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Hayek

Hayek

[hah-yek]
Hayek, Friedrich August von, 1899-1992, British economist, b. Vienna. He was raised and educated in Austria and taught at the London School of Economics in the 1930s, where he gained attention for his criticism of Keynes. He expressed his commitment to free markets and his aversion to government intervention and its control of the means of production in The Road to Serfdom (1944). The economic policies of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher were significantly influenced by his ideas, and his economic philosophy also helped to foster the global capitalism of the late 20th and early 21st cents. In his later years Hayek wrote works that focused on the fields of philosophy, psychology, and epistemology, including as The Counter-Revolution of Science: Studies in the Abuse of Reason (1952). He was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1974.

See The Road to Serfdom: Text and Documents—The Definitive Edition, Collected Works of F. A. Hayek (2008), ed. by B. Caldwell.

(born May 8, 1899, Vienna, Austria—died March 23, 1992, Freiburg, Ger.) Austrian-born British economist. He moved to London in 1931 and held positions at the University of London and the London School of Economics, becoming a British citizen in 1938. Later posts included a professorship at the University of Chicago (1950–62). Throughout his life Hayek criticized socialism, often contrasting it with a system of free markets. In his works he opposed the theories of John Maynard Keynes and argued that government intervention in the free market is destructive of individual values and could not prevent such economic ailments as inflation, unemployment, and recession. His books include The Road to Serfdom (1944), The Constitution of Liberty (1960), and The Political Order of a Free People (1979). His views have been highly influential among conservatives, including Margaret Thatcher. In 1974 he shared the Nobel Prize with Gunnar Myrdal.

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(born May 8, 1899, Vienna, Austria—died March 23, 1992, Freiburg, Ger.) Austrian-born British economist. He moved to London in 1931 and held positions at the University of London and the London School of Economics, becoming a British citizen in 1938. Later posts included a professorship at the University of Chicago (1950–62). Throughout his life Hayek criticized socialism, often contrasting it with a system of free markets. In his works he opposed the theories of John Maynard Keynes and argued that government intervention in the free market is destructive of individual values and could not prevent such economic ailments as inflation, unemployment, and recession. His books include The Road to Serfdom (1944), The Constitution of Liberty (1960), and The Political Order of a Free People (1979). His views have been highly influential among conservatives, including Margaret Thatcher. In 1974 he shared the Nobel Prize with Gunnar Myrdal.

Learn more about Hayek, Friedrich (August) von with a free trial on Britannica.com.

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