Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

By his intellectual contributions in economics, epistemology, ethics, law, philosophy, politics, and psychology, Hayek has come closest to a unified theory of human action. The central theme is of a natural and spontaneous evolution: founded upon essentially competitive processes, the cultural selection of systems and rules brings order to human affairs. While this book is both concise and comprehensive, Hayek's economics cannot be discussed in isolation. So, the author attempts to present an economist's understanding of that which any economist ought to know; or, in Hayek's own terms, 'nobody can be a great economist who is only an economist'.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Lack of appreciation for the writings of Friedrich Hayek, 1974 recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science, provided the motivation for this book about his contributions by Steele (Lancaster Univ.). After a brief introduction and background statement on Hayek's 93-year life, professional appointments, contemporaries, and the Austrian School, the author launches into a comprehensive review of his extensive works. The second and third chapters dealing with liberty, law, and the market touch on the breadth of Hayek's intellectual mastery across disciplines that include philosophy, psychology, political science as well as economics. Subsequent chapters focus more precisely on Hayek's economics. Topics covered include the limitations of the methods of the natural sciences in understanding economic processes, the socialist calculation debate, the role of money in facilitating transactions and resource allocation, capital as a factor of production and its relationship to entrepreneurial activity, and Hayek's theory of business cycles. Upper-division undergraduate through faculty. E. L. Whalen; University of Houston System

Author notes provided by Syndetics

G. R. Steele is Lecturer in Economics at Lancaster University Management School, UK