Counter-revolution of Science [Hardcover]

The Counter Revolution of Science is an important book for several reasons. First, The CRS explains the futility of schemes to plan progress, the impossibility of efforts for the "human mind to lift itself up by its own bootstraps". What this means is that "the attempt of conscious reason to control its own development limits the very growth to what the human mind can could foresee". Freedom "releases the knowledge and energies of countless individuals that could never be utilized in a society consciously directed from the top". Second, the CRS explains how the mindset of the physical sciences, which focuses on objective factors, fails when applied to economics. Understanding economics requires an appreciation of subjectivity in human relations. Engineers pursue technical excellence according to objective scientific principles, without considering economic factors (i.e. scarcity), and worse still the application of mathematical methods from the social sciences creates a false and dangerous impression that society can itself be engineered. Third, Hayek examines the history of the development of `scientistic' ideas, whereby various thinkers (especially St Simon and Comte) popularized positivism, socialism, and corporatism. Finally, reading the CRS instills an appreciation of the humility of individualism and disdain for the hubris of collectivism in the reader.

Generally speaking, Hayek makes the importance of recognizing and respecting the limits of human reason abundantly clear. Hayek saw that modern collectivism was working to undo the intellectual progress made during the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment. Collectivism was antithetical to reason, and would lead us to a new Dark Age if not reversed. Persons of the left with surely find this absurd, and their revulsion to Hayek's thesis is consistent with his thesis. The Left does not reject reason explicitly, it abuses reason unwittingly. People on the Left truly believe that they are progressive and scientific, but this is a false belief. Socialists and Welfare State Liberals abuse human reason by failing to see its limits.

The background to this book is simple. Hayek started his career writing technical economics. Hayek's efforts were initially met with success. Hayek initially swayed professional opinion on business cycles. Hayek also forced socialists to revise their early proposals. Yet professional opinion turned against Hayek during the mid thirties. Why? Had they proved him wrong? Did they fail to understand why he was right? How was it that intelligent and educated people could not see the strength of Hayek's arguments? Hayek's technical economics show how the capitalist system functions. Yet Hayek misunderstood the way in which his peers understood the term `technical economics'. That is, Hayek erred by underestimating the influence of positivist and other ideas. Hence Hayek turned to explaining why economists and other educated people were unable to understand correct economic theories: they had embraced a false notion of rationalism.

I find the sections on Engineers particularly interesting. Hayek's views on the role of engineers in society are so diametrically opposed to Veblen's Engineers and the Price System that one must wonder why he did little more than mention Veblen in passing. The Counter Revolution of Science is one of Hayek's best books, and that is saying a lot. The Counter Revolution of Science was important in the twentieth century because it penetrated to the core of intellectual problems of that time. We live in a new century now, but the old problem of abusing reason remains. One need only look at the policies of Bush/Cheney and Obama/Emanuel to see how the social engineering mindset prevails in modern America.

The CRS represents Hayek at his best, insightful, informative, and well reasoned in his conclusions. These are important ideas too, given that people still believe in false notions of rationalism, whereby most people still trust that the so-called best and brightest can best plan society. The Counter Revolution of Science should be read by the entire educated public.

Too often, Hayek is not given enough credit. Too many people see him as merely a critic of socialism and defender of libertarianism (not that there's anything wrong with that). But Hayek was a brilliant social philosopher too and this book is Hayek at his best.

Unfortunately, this book begs to be misunderstood. I fear that people will read the second section before the first (if they read the first at all), and frankly, I could've done without the second.

At base, this book is not a critique on planning. It is a philosophical explanation of how we gain and use knowledge in the natural and social sciences. After Hayek lays out what he feels are mistakes in the methods of social science (psychologism, holism, scientism), he examines the mistakes thinkers have made that brought them to these -isms. Then and only then does he offer a critique of planning but ONE WILL NOT UNDERSTAND IN FULL THE SECOND SECTION WITHOUT HAVEING READ AND ABSORBED THE IDEAS IN THE FIRST! One may even want to read Popper's 'The Poverty of Historicism' before or with this book.
In closing, if you're looking for a critique on planning and socialism, read 'The Road To Serfdom' or 'Individualism and Economic Order', but if you want a great critique of science (social as well as natural) and it's current methods, read this one WITH CARE!

In this dense book Hayek probes the origins of socialist thought. His account of the attempt to make history a mathematical science and the differences between subjective and objective thought is some of the most interesting and thought provoking discussion written this century.

It is a hard read but well worth the effort.