Friedrich Hayek: A Biography [Hardcover]

Dr. Alan Ebenstein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 21, 2001

This book tells the story of one of the most important public figures of the twentieth century. It is the first full biography of Friedrich Hayek, the Austrian economist who became, over the course of a remarkable career, the great philosopher of liberty in our time. In this richly detailed portrait, Alan Ebenstein chronicles the life, works, and legacy of a visionary thinker, from Hayek's early years as the scholarly son of a physician in fin-de-siecle Vienna on an increasingly wider world as an economist and political philosopher in Londom, New York, and Chicago. Ebenstein gives a balanced, integrated account of Hayek's extordinary diverse body of work, from his fist encounter with the free market ideas of mentor Ludwig Von Mises to his magisterial writings in later life on the legal, political, ethical, and economic requirements of a free society. Awarded the Nobel Prize in 1974, Hayek's vision of a renewed classical liberalism-of free markets and free ideas in free societies-has taken hold in much of the world. Alan Ebanstein's clearly written account is an essential starting point for anyone seeking to understand why Hayek's ideas have become the guiding force of our time. His illuminating portrait of Hayek the man brings to new life the spirit of a great scholar and tenacious advocate who has become, in Peter Drucker's words, "our time's preeminent social philosopher."

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This biography of the prominent economist-cum-political philosopher fills a significant hole in the intellectual history of the 20th century. Ebenstein blends an account of Hayek's personal life (1899-1992) with analysis of his thought, producing a chronological overview of a man praised by some for extraordinary commitment to his principles and dismissed by others as an ideologue. After a brief flirtation with Fabianism in his youth, Hayek embraced the free market and applied it to the problems of political organization. Emphasizing how the limits of individual knowledge undermine the capacity of human beings to make competent decisions beyond their immediate interests, he was an implacable foe of social or economic planning. With an impeccable libertarian r?sum? running from the Austrian school of economics to the Chicago school economists, and including a Nobel Prize in economics, Hayek parlayed his success as an economist into a career most often remembered for his political writing. Whole chapters of this biography are devoted to description and assessment of Hayek's major writings, and while the treatment is mostly friendly it is not uncritical. Ebenstein does not shy away from Hayek's single-mindedness: in a telling quotation, Hayek admits that when reading the work of others, "that part of the argument which is not sympathetic to me, I pass over." In the brief postscript, Ebenstein, author and coauthor of several books on political and economic thought, allows that the core of Hayek's position, his epistemology, was flawed. Yet the appeal of Hayek's arguments for liberty cannot be denied, and Ebenstein has made a significant contribution to understanding an important figure. 8 pages b&w photos. (Mar.) Forecast: This will be important reading for serious students of economics and political thought a fairly small market that will yield light if durable sales.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Hayek is a perfect example of how economists fall in and out of favor. Hayek was born in 1899 in Austria but became a British citizen and taught at the London School of Economics and the University of Chicago. Hayek was a vocal opponent of government intervention in the marketplace and a critic of Keynesian welfare economics. His Road to Serfdom, published in 1944, laid out the contrarian argument that government programs only forestall economic collapse, which then allows totalitarianism to gain a foothold. Hayek was awarded the 1974 Nobel Prize in Economics; and in the 1980s his theories were used to justify British prime minister Margaret Thatcher's economic policies. Ebenstein is a graduate of the London School of Economics and the author of Today's Isms: Socialism, Capitalism, Fascism, Communism, Libertarianism (2000). His new work is not so much a biography of Hayek as it is a history of Hayek's ideas. Ebenstein categorizes Hayek's life by major events and locations to show how others influenced him and how he influenced those around him. David Rouse
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (March 21, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312233442
• ISBN-13: 978-0312233440
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,333,515 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good overview of a deep thinker., January 9, 2002

By 

[e-mail] (Louisville KY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Friedrich Hayek: A Biography (Hardcover)

Hayek is my favorite author not because I agree with all of his ideas, but because his books have taught me so much. I write this review as an experienced fan of Hayek, but those who have read few or none of Hayek's writings will benefit the most from reading this well-researched biography.

Never before has any writing put together so complete a picture of Hayek's life and background. If you admire Hayek as much as I do, you'll find it very satisfying to read Ebenstein's largely fruitful efforts to understand the man behind the distant - but kind - demeanor that he wore. Frankly, much of the value I got from this book came from the satisfaction of my curiosity. Those who haven't yet read much of Hayek, however, will find far more of value in Ebenstein's excellent summaries and analyses of Hayek's ideas. Ebenstein has a knack for condensing Hayek's ideas in a concise and highly readable form, which Hayek himself could not do very well. Mostly Ebenstein saw it as his function to simply summarize and explain Hayek's ideas, but he also entered into some interesting discussions about the intellectual controversies Hayek was involved in. Obviously the socialist calculation debate is one such controversy, but Ebenstein also picks out a few nits from Hayek's books, such as an inconsistent interpretation of J.S. Mill and the inspiration Hayek may have taken from a misunderstanding of Karl Popper.

I was most disappointed with the author's treatment of Hayek's strictly economic work in capital and trade cycle theory. In short, Ebenstein informs us that Hayek's views on these subjects are very far from being the accepted wisdom among economists, and that students of Hayek consider his economic work to be greatly overshadowed by his achievements in political philosophy. Both points are true, but neither goes any distance toward refuting Hayek's somewhat unique ideas about capital, business cycles, and inflation. Ebenstein nearly dismisses these theories out of hand. Readers will probably either be left unconvinced that Hayek was wrong, or they will be left with the impression that Hayek was not a very successful economist. I feel that if Ebenstein is going to reject the Austrian Business Cycle theory (ABC), he has no excuse not to provide his readers with an adequate summary of the arguments against it. First of all, a good, nontechnical argument against it could be made within the space of a few pages. Secondly, the mainstream arguments against ABC aren't usually a complete rejection of it: many mainstream economists only differ from ABC by degrees. For instance, Hayek thought that the most serious side effect of inflation was, by far, its distortion of capital investments. Some mainstream economists would agree that this distortion can take place, but they would argue that it isn't nearly as important as the other costs of inflation, such as the deadweight loss resulting from individuals' efforts to avoid having their wealth depreciated away. On the other hand, I think Ebenstein slightly understated the enormity of the chasm between the mainstream and Hayek (along with the other Austrian economists) when it comes to methodological issues. The slight mistreatments of Hayek's economics constitute my only complaints against this book. It is excellent in every other regard.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Friedrich Hayak: A Biography by Alan Ebenstein, May 24, 2001

By 

Shawn Decker (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Friedrich Hayek: A Biography (Hardcover)

As a student of Hayak, I was often troubled by my inability to fully grasp the nature of some of his theories. After reading Mr. Ebentein's magnificent work I now have a richer understanding of this master's contributions.

I found Mr. Ebenstein's book illuminating and comprehensive. He has a crisp writing style and I was impressed with the easy flow of the material.

An excellent read; I highly recommend this book!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended, March 6, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Friedrich Hayek: A Biography (Hardcover)

I have read a number of books on Hayek, classical liberalism, and libertarianism, and this is the best of them all. This biography presents both Hayek's life and thought. The tone is friendly to Hayek but not uncritical. I learned a great deal not just about Hayek but about the people with whom he interacted--von Mises, Keynes, Popper, Friedman, and others.