Hayek's Tensions

F. A. Hayek, a prominent 20th-century political economist in the Austrian tradition,

won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1974 for his pioneering work on the theory of

money and economic fluctuations and on comparative institutional analysis. Hayek's

research highlights the importance and dispersed nature of knowledge, advancing

an interdisciplinary approach to understanding human behavior. Like any great and

productive scholar, he left behind a body of work that includes tensions, flaws, and

inconsistencies that must be confronted by scholars looking to engage, critique, and

advance his distinctive project in political economy.

Hayek's work is important but also open for contestation and improvement. Hayek's

Tensions: Reexamining the Political Economy and Philosophy of F. A. Hayek presents

a critical assessment of Hayek's research and ideas and identifies sources of tension

within his writing. The contributions to this edited volume include original chapters by

eminent scholars of complexity theory, of Austrian economics, and of Hayek himself.

The book's key takeaway is that the research program Hayek developed continues as

an open-ended project, both as a social-scientific approach and as a classical liberal

vision of a free society, rather than as a static dogma or set of theories from a bygone

era. Taken as a whole, this volume identifies important questions and areas for future

research by the next generation of political economists.

Stefanie Haeffele is senior fellow with the F. A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

Solomon M. Stein is senior fellow with the F. A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

Virgil Henry Storr is associate professor of economics at George Mason University and Don C. Lavoie Senior Fellow with the F. A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.