- Paperback: 208 pages
- Publisher: Routledge; 3 edition (14 May 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0415173159
- ISBN-13: 978-0415173155
- Product Dimensions: 2.2 x 1.4 x 0.2 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,006,283 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Hayek on Liberty
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Product Description
Review
"The first survey of my work which not only fully understands but is able to carry on my ideas beyond the point at which I left off."
-Friedrich August von Hayek
..."an important contribution...."
-"Ethics
"John Gray treats Hayek primarily as a philosopher. His book is analytical, not hagiographical, and almost certainly the best book on the subject."
-"Financial Times
-Friedrich August von Hayek
..."an important contribution...."
-"Ethics
"John Gray treats Hayek primarily as a philosopher. His book is analytical, not hagiographical, and almost certainly the best book on the subject."
-"Financial Times
Product Description
Not available since the 1980s, this up-dated edition by the leading political philosopher, John Gray, outlines his new position on Hayek. In a substantial new chapter, Gray assesses how far the historical development of the last ten years can be deployed in a critique of Hayek's thought. His reassessment is not only a provoking study of a classical philosopher. It is also a timely contribution to the debate over the future of conservatism, as Gray argues that Hayekian liberalism - 'the most well-articulated political theory of the new right' - is flawed.
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First Sentence
As part of the reawakening of public and scholarly interest in the intellectual tradition of classical liberalism, Hayek's writings in a range of academic disciplines have been recalled from a period of neglect during which it seemed to many that they have been consigned to oblivion. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
As part of the reawakening of public and scholarly interest in the intellectual tradition of classical liberalism, Hayek's writings in a range of academic disciplines have been recalled from a period of neglect during which it seemed to many that they have been consigned to oblivion. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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4 reviews
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
The best recreation of Hayek's thought available
22 Oct 1999
Format:Paperback
Friedrich von Hayek has had perhaps the most profound impact of any political theorist in the last half-century. John Gray's book is a superb analysis of his ideas. Where other studies can be confusing or convoluted, Gray's always maintains its ability to lucidly recreate Hayek's arguments from their intellectual roots upwards.
Understanding the intellectual foundations of Hayek's work, can be a minefield of inaccessible terms and confusing statements. Thanks to John Gray, however, these matters are clearly and intelligently explained. The result is that the reader is provided with a rich insight into how Hayek's political economy functions. More than just a critique of socialism, Hayek's thought is also a profound intellectual statement combining the epistemological insights of Hume with Kant's categorical imperative. An understanding of its philosophical basis allows a fertile gaze into the prism that is Hayek's thought. Only Gray explains these aspects of his writngs clearly.
"Hayek on Liberty" is, moreover, refreshingly objective, despite the controversy which Hayek's ideas generate. Gray seeks to explain rather than to refute or praise. The reader can therefore take the insights Gray offers in a number of directions. Although Gray clearly admires Hayek, he does not feel the need to indulge in the monotonous hero-worship to which we have become accustomed. There is much to be found here for Hayek's critics too. Especially since it is doubtful that Hayek's use of Hume does not undermine many of his more positive political statements.
Gray's work is thus an invaluable guide to one of the Twentieth Century's intellectual icons. One only has to observe the saint-like worship Hayek has received in recent months, surrounding the centenery of his birth, to appreciate that his legacy is an ongoing phenomenon of global proportions. Academic, student, and interested observer will find Gray's study immensely helpful as a platform for approaching more general disussions of Hayek's ideas, of which many fine examples now exist. Anyone attempting a detailed appreciation of Hayek should thus keep Gray beside them at all times.
11 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Definitely worth more than a single read
18 May 2004
Format:Paperback
The shear volume of work completed by Hayek over a publishing career that marked more than fifty years makes it quite difficult to grasp the interlocking system of ideas he advocated. Gray has done an exceptional job of synthesizing this work. He presents the philosophical roots of Hayek's thought, the unique 20th century context in which Hayek's ideas competed with others, and a magnificent critique that anyone interested in Hayek should study.
Essentially, Gray reduces Hayek's contribution to that of a critic of socialism. Hayek's assertion that socialized central planning was an "epistemological impossibility," while historically evident, provides an inadequate justification for the 19th century form of capitalism Hayek advocated. The post-communist 21st century must deal with competing capitalisms, not rigid centrally planned economies, and Gray considers Hayek inadequate on this score.
Gray believes that Hayek missed an essential aspect of free market capitalism, that is, the power of progress. Free markets demand change, even change for change's sake, and the metaphor of a "spontaneous social order" arising in some sort of social evolution is not adequate to provide support for the traditional values and institutions for which Hayek had regard. Personal autonomy will always present a danger to social cohesion. In Gray's view, the free market advocated by Hayek prefers the former to the latter.
To Gray this weakness in Hayek's thought is fatal, and I tend to agree.
Slightly disappointing
4 Jun 2012
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I read this primarily wanting to get some handle on Hayek's work and I feel that it did help me, but that it was a book strangely behind its time. Its discussion of computation seemed unaware of the work going on as some of the criticisms of Dreyfus et. al. were in the process of being addressed, e.g., with Phil Agre's work on Pengi and Brooks' subsumption architecture -- although, admittedly some of this work was cotemporal with the writing of the book.
Similarly, as soon as I read the game theory comments I found myself asking: "well how does 'tit for tat' fit in", but 'tit for tat' never seemed to be addressed even though the work was known long before the book was published.
I found these oversights problematic, since they seemed to constitute one of the cores of the argument. They also hit one of my frustrations: the characterization that computation requires everything to be spelled out in exact detail. This is true for some systems some times, but does not completely cover the computational space.
I would have also liked to have seen a more detailed exposition of what appeared to be an anti-statistics stance on Hayek's part-- another aspect that seemed core and which, in my mind, required more grounding.
That said, it was a interesting book, the reviews just seem more favorable than justified, but Hayek is a polarizing figure.
Similarly, as soon as I read the game theory comments I found myself asking: "well how does 'tit for tat' fit in", but 'tit for tat' never seemed to be addressed even though the work was known long before the book was published.
I found these oversights problematic, since they seemed to constitute one of the cores of the argument. They also hit one of my frustrations: the characterization that computation requires everything to be spelled out in exact detail. This is true for some systems some times, but does not completely cover the computational space.
I would have also liked to have seen a more detailed exposition of what appeared to be an anti-statistics stance on Hayek's part-- another aspect that seemed core and which, in my mind, required more grounding.
That said, it was a interesting book, the reviews just seem more favorable than justified, but Hayek is a polarizing figure.
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