Friedrich August von Hayek is an Austrian and British economist and philosopher. He defended the interests of classical liberalism. In 1974, he shared the Nobel Prize with Gunnar Mirdel for "pioneering work in the field of money theory and … a deep analysis of the interdependence of economic, social and institutional phenomena." Hayek is called a representative of the Austrian and Chicago schools. His main achievements are the calculus argument, catallactics, scattered knowledge theory, price signal, spontaneous order, Hayek-Hebb model.
General information
Friedrich Hayek was a significant social theorist and political philosopher of the 20th century. His observation of how price changes signal important information to individuals that helps them coordinate their plans was a major advance in economics. Hayek participated in the First World War and said more than once that this experience gave rise to a desire in him to become a scientist and help people avoid the mistakes that led toto armed confrontation. During his life he changed his place of residence many times. Friedrich Hayek has worked in Austria, Great Britain, the USA and Germany. He was a professor at the London School of Economics, the University of Chicago and Friborg. In 1939, Hayek became a British citizen. In 1984 he became a member of the Knights of Honor and the first recipient of the Hans Martin Schleyer Prize. His article "The Use of Knowledge in Society" was one of the top 20 published by The American Economic Review in its first 100 years.
Biography
Friedrich Hayek was born in Vienna. His father was a doctor and a freelance teacher of botany at the local university. Hayek's mother was born into a we althy landowning family. In addition to Friedrich, the couple had two more sons (1, 5 and 5 years younger than him). Both of Hayek's grandfathers were scientists. His maternal second cousin was the famous philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. All this significantly influenced the choice of the sphere of interests of the future scientist. In 1917, Friedrich Hayek joined an artillery regiment in the Austro-Hungarian army on the Italian front. He was decorated for bravery during the war.
In 1921 and 1923 he defended his PhDs in law and political science. In 1931 he began working at the London School of Economics. He quickly became famous. And they started talking about Hayek as the main theorist in the field of economics in the world. After Germany fell under the rule of the Nazis, he decided to accept British citizenship. In 1950-1962 he lived in the USA. After that he moved toGermany. However, Hayek remained a British subject for the rest of his life. In 1974 he won the Nobel Prize. This event brought him even greater popularity. During the ceremony, he met Russian dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn. He then sent him a translation of his most famous work, The Road to Slavery.
Private life
In August 1926, Friedrich Hayek married Helen Bertha Maria von Fritsch. They met at work. The couple had two children, but they separated in 1950. Two weeks after the divorce, Hayek married Helena Bitterlich in Arkansas, where it could be done.
Friedrich Hayek: books
The University of Chicago plans to release a collected work of a scientist who has been working here for quite a long time. The 19-volume series will contain new book revisions, author interviews, articles, letters, and unpublished drafts. Hayek's most famous works include:
- "Monetary Theory and the Trade Cycle", 1929.
- Prices and Production, 1931.
- "Income, interest and investment and other essays on the theory of industrial fluctuations", 1939.
- Road to Slavery, 1944.
- Individualism and Economic Order, 1948.
- "Transmission of the ideals of freedom", 1951.
- "The counter-revolution in science: studies on the abuse of reason", 1952.
- "Freedom Constitution", 1960.
- "Deadly Presumption: The Mistakes of Socialism", 1988.
Friedrich Hayek, Road to Slavery
This is the most famous work of the Austrian economist and philosopher. He wrote it in 1940-1943. In it, he warns of the dangers of tyranny, which inevitably ends government control of decision-making through central planning. Friedrich von Hayek proves that the rejection of individualism and the ideas of classical liberalism inevitably leads to the loss of freedom, the creation of a passive society, dictatorship and "slavery" of people. It should be noted that the scientist's statements ran counter to the views prevailing at that time in scientific works that fascism (National Socialism) was capitalism's response to the development of socialism. Hayek pointed to the common roots of both systems. More than two million copies of The Road to Slavery have been sold since its publication. The work of Friedrich Hayek had a significant impact on economic and political discourse in the 20th century. She is still quoted today.
Contribution and recognition
Hayek's work had a significant impact on the development of economic thought. His ideas are the second most cited (after Kenneth Arrow) in the lectures of Nobel laureates. Vernon Smith and Herbert Simon call him the most famous contemporary economist. It was Hayek who first introduced the time dimension into market equilibrium. He had a significant impact on the development of growth theory, information economics, and the concept of spontaneous order.
Legacy and awards
Even after his death, Hayek is still one of the leading economists of our time. His views are by no means outdated. Named after him:
- Student society at the London School of Economics. It was created in 1996.
- Society at Oxford. Created in 1983.
- Audience at the Cato Institute. In recent years, Hayek has been awarded the title of Distinguished Senior Fellow of this American research organization.
- Audience at the University of Francisco Marroquin in Guatemala.
- Foundation for scientists of the Institute for Humanitarian Research. It gives awards to graduate students and young researchers.
- Annual lecture at the Ludwig von Mises Institute. On it, scientists talk about Hayek's contribution to science.
- George Mason University Economic Essay Award.
