Introduction: Which Enlightenment, Whose Liberalism? Hayek's Research Program for Understanding the Liberal Society

Boettke, Peter J., ed. 1999. The Legacy of Friedrich Von Hayek Volume I: Politics. Northampton: Edward Elgar, pp. xi-lv

28 Pages Posted: 19 Jun 2015

See all articles by Peter J. Boettke

Peter J. Boettke

George Mason University - Department of Economics; Mercatus Center at George Mason University

Date Written: 1999

Abstract

In this introduction I outline a logical continuity in Hayek's research program from technical economics to his political economy and social philosophy. By taking the starting point of economics as the question of the coordination of plans, Hayek's emphasis as an economist on how economic actors must utilize their knowledge of time and place in making decisions, and how the market system is able to achieve such a high degree of order in the absence of command, leads Hayek as a political economist to emphasize generality in the law and politics and the requisite constraints on discretion, for it is only against this backdrop that agents are able to exploit their local knowledge for the mutual reinforcement and coordination of plans.

Keywords: F.A. Hayek, Liberalism, Political Economy

JEL Classification: B31, B51, P48, P51

Suggested Citation

Boettke, Peter J. and Boettke, Peter J., Introduction: Which Enlightenment, Whose Liberalism? Hayek's Research Program for Understanding the Liberal Society (1999). Boettke, Peter J., ed. 1999. The Legacy of Friedrich Von Hayek Volume I: Politics. Northampton: Edward Elgar, pp. xi-lv, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2619438 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2619438

Peter J. Boettke (Contact Author)

Mercatus Center at George Mason University ( email )

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Arlington, VA 22201
United States

George Mason University - Department of Economics ( email )

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Fairfax, VA 22030
United States
703-993-1149 (Phone)
703-993-1133 (Fax)

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