The Fatal Conceit: The Errors of Socialism » (1)

F. A. Hayek (1899-1992), recipient of the Medal of Freedom in 1991 and co-winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics in 1974, was a pioneer in monetary theory and a leading proponent of classical liberalism  in the twentieth century. He taught at the University of London, the University of Chicago, and the University of Freiburg.

F. A. Hayek gives the main arugments for the free-market case and presents his manifesto on the "errors of socialism." Hayek argues that socialism has, from its origins, been mistaken on factual, and even on logical grounds and that its repeated failures in the many different practical applications of socialist ideas that this century has witnessed were the direct outcome of these errors. He labels as the "fatal conceit" the idea that "man is able to shape the world around him according to his wishes."

Editorial Foreword Preface Introduction: Was Socialism a Mistake?
1. Between Instinct and Reason
2. The Origins of Liberty, Property and Justice
3. The Evolution of the Market: Trade and Civilisation
4. The Revolt of Instinct and Reason
5. The Fatal Conceit
6. The Mysterious World of Trade and Money
7. Our Poisoned Language
8. The Extended Order and Population Growth
9. Religion and the Guardians of Tradition Appendices Editor's Acknowledgements Bibliography Name Index Subject Index