Friedrich Hayek
Friedrich Hayek (1899-1992), British economist, born in Austria. After graduating from the University of Vienna in 1921, Hayek carried out economic research for the Austrian government From the 1930’s onward he held a series of professorships in Britain, the US, and Germany. He became famous out-side academic circles with his book The Road to Serfdom (1944), which argues passionately for an absolutely free market as the only guarantor of individual liberty. This position was further developed in such publications as Law, Legislation and Liberty (1973-79). Hayek’s ideas had a major influence on the social and economic policies of the Thatcher and Reagan governments in the 1980’s.
