Eamonn Butler, Friedrich Hayek: The ideas and influence of the libertarian economist Hampshire, Great Britain: Harriman House LTD, 2012. vii + 151 pages. USD 23.99 (paper)

摘要

Eamonn Butler ably summarizes the entire corpus of Hayek's thought in this brief and accessible overview. This is quite a feat when one considers that Hayek's professional career spanned over seven decades, involving major contributions to economics, psychology, philosophy, and politics, with collected works running to 19 volumes. Butler introduces readers to the core themes and insights of Hayek's thought in a concise and readable fashion, avoiding both over-simplification and jargon. Butler's ease in conveying the depth and complexity of Hayek's intellectual program to the modern reader comes as no surprise when we look at Butler's impressive pedigree. Butler co-founded, and currently serves as director of the Adam Smith Institute, which bills itself as the UK's leading libertarian think tank. Butler can also boast the vice presidency of the Mont Pelerin Society, the loose international confederation of classical liberal scholars and intellectuals founded by Hayek himself in the dark days of socialist and Keynesian ascendancy. A well-regarded commentator on British economic policy, Butler has penned numerous works ranging from economic history to modern policy analysis, as well as similar overviews of the works of Adam Smith, Ludwig von Mises, and Milton Friedman. With this experience as a public intellectual, his extensive writings on major economists, and even a personal acquaintance with Hayek himself through his Mont Pelerin membership, Butler is just the man for the job of providing this much-needed handbook on Hayek.