One of the little-known giants of the 20th Century was Friedrich Hayek. He was not unknown to students of Austrian economics, but he was to most of the other schools of economics. That is truly unfortunate, as more now realize.
His theories are being dusted off in an attempt to explain our current economic problems.
He was more than just an economist. He was a historian, philosopher, political scientist and did pathbreaking work in psychology. If there were one man whose ideas could turn this country around, Hayek would likely be that man. Indeed, it is claimed that he did just that as Margaret Thatcher’s architect for the revival of Great Britain.
To learn more about Hayek, read Ronald Lipsman’s article below:
On the Genius of Friedrich Hayek
Posted by LLPH on Friday, October 15, 2010 11:13:50 AMThe United States was founded upon certain fundamental ideas and principles – political, cultural, social and economic. As the American people’s faith in and adherence to those principles have eroded over the decades, those of us who cling to them attribute much of the decline to the miserable education that our youth receive. Our schools – from kindergarten to graduate school – have done, in the last two generations, a deplorable job of inculcating in our children the ideas that animated our Founders. The names, much less the thoughts, of those responsible for the principles upon which America was established are virtually unknown to the youth of America. Alas, they are often equally unknown to their parents. How many among us recognize the name or words of Adam Smith, Edmund Burke or William Gladstone? Our children might know that Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, but how many recognize James Madison as the “Father of the Constitution?” Furthermore, the lack of knowledge of the content of these seminal documents is shocking.To read the rest of this article, click here.Going forward, the populace’s ignorance of the great philosophers who followed the Founders in the 19th century – de Tocqueville, Lord Acton and John Stuart Mill – is equally dismaying. The deficit grows even stronger in the twentieth century as Ludwig von Mises, Russell Kirk and (to a lesser extent) Milton Friedman are completely off the radar screen of mainstream educators. But the most egregious instance for me is the disregard paid to one of the great minds of the 20th century – Friedrich Hayek, a Nobel Prize winning economist. Hayek’s writings in the middle part of the 20th century should be required reading for every high school and college student in America.
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