Product Description

Hayek on Liberty is a concise yet exhaustive and provocative study of this classic liberal philosopher. It examines the structure and impact of Hayek's system of ideas and locates his position within Western philosophy. Not available since the 1980s, this updated 3rd edition contains a a substantial new chapter in which Gray assesses how far the historical development of the last ten years can be deployed in a critique of Hayek's thought. Gray's reassessment is not only a provoking study of a classical philosopher; it is also a timely contribution to the debate over the future of conservatism.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1467121 in Books
• Published on: 1998-06-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

Review
"...[This] book is analytical, not hagiographical, and almost certainly the best book on the subject." -- Financial Times

"...an important contribution...." -- Ethics

"The first survey of my work which not only fully understands but is able to carry on my ideas beyond the point at which I left off." -- Friedrich August von Hayek

...an important contribution....
–Ethics

John Gray treats Hayek primarily as a philosopher. His book is analytical, not hagiographical, and almost certainly the best book on the subject.
–Financial Times

The first survey of my work which not only fully understands but is able to carry on my ideas beyond the point at which I left off.
–Friedrich August von Hayek

Customer Reviews

The best recreation of Hayek's thought available
Friedrich von Hayek has had perhaps the most profound impact of any political theorist in the last half-century. John Gray's book is a superb analysis of his ideas. Where other studies can be confusing or convoluted, Gray's always maintains its ability to lucidly recreate Hayek's arguments from their intellectual roots upwards.

Understanding the intellectual foundations of Hayek's work, can be a minefield of inaccessible terms and confusing statements. Thanks to John Gray, however, these matters are clearly and intelligently explained. The result is that the reader is provided with a rich insight into how Hayek's political economy functions. More than just a critique of socialism, Hayek's thought is also a profound intellectual statement combining the epistemological insights of Hume with Kant's categorical imperative. An understanding of its philosophical basis allows a fertile gaze into the prism that is Hayek's thought. Only Gray explains these aspects of his writngs clearly.

"Hayek on Liberty" is, moreover, refreshingly objective, despite the controversy which Hayek's ideas generate. Gray seeks to explain rather than to refute or praise. The reader can therefore take the insights Gray offers in a number of directions. Although Gray clearly admires Hayek, he does not feel the need to indulge in the monotonous hero-worship to which we have become accustomed. There is much to be found here for Hayek's critics too. Especially since it is doubtful that Hayek's use of Hume does not undermine many of his more positive political statements.

Gray's work is thus an invaluable guide to one of the Twentieth Century's intellectual icons. One only has to observe the saint-like worship Hayek has received in recent months, surrounding the centenery of his birth, to appreciate that his legacy is an ongoing phenomenon of global proportions. Academic, student, and interested observer will find Gray's study immensely helpful as a platform for approaching more general disussions of Hayek's ideas, of which many fine examples now exist. Anyone attempting a detailed appreciation of Hayek should thus keep Gray beside them at all times.

Definitely worth more than a single read
The shear volume of work completed by Hayek over a publishing career that marked more than fifty years makes it quite difficult to grasp the interlocking system of ideas he advocated. Gray has done an exceptional job of synthesizing this work. He presents the philosophical roots of Hayek's thought, the unique 20th century context in which Hayek's ideas competed with others, and a magnificent critique that anyone interested in Hayek should study.

Essentially, Gray reduces Hayek's contribution to that of a critic of socialism. Hayek's assertion that socialized central planning was an "epistemological impossibility," while historically evident, provides an inadequate justification for the 19th century form of capitalism Hayek advocated. The post-communist 21st century must deal with competing capitalisms, not rigid centrally planned economies, and Gray considers Hayek inadequate on this score.

Gray believes that Hayek missed an essential aspect of free market capitalism, that is, the power of progress. Free markets demand change, even change for change's sake, and the metaphor of a "spontaneous social order" arising in some sort of social evolution is not adequate to provide support for the traditional values and institutions for which Hayek had regard. Personal autonomy will always present a danger to social cohesion. In Gray's view, the free market advocated by Hayek prefers the former to the latter.

To Gray this weakness in Hayek's thought is fatal, and I tend to agree.

Cannot Recommend More Highly
I have not read this book, but I just finished reading an academic paper written by Mr. Gray, whose subject is F.A. Hayek. Based on this paper alone, I recommend anything Mr. Gray writes. His analysis is subtle, comprehensive, penetrating, and unassuming. It is a pleasure learning from Mr. Gray. Here is a link, if this is permitted, to the paper I refer to above: http://www.econlib.org/library/Essays/LtrLbrty/gryHRC.html