Hayek, Friedrich August Von (1899–1992)

Friedrich August von Hayek, an Austrian-born economist and political philosopher, was the author of the important antisocialist tract The Road to Serfdom(1944). A prominent economist widely recognized for his groundbreaking work in the field of knowledge theory, Hayek was also one of the most important twentieth-century exponents of libertarian political thought. Outside of academic circles, Hayek enjoys a large and devoted popular following in the United States and Great Britain, as well as in many former communist central European countries.

Formally trained in the field of law at the University of Vienna, Hayek's intellectual interests spanned the fields of economics, psychology, politics, and philosophy. Hayek joined the faculty of the London School of Economics in 1931, soon gaining notoriety through a series of public debates with ...