Here are two of Hayek's greatest essays in one small and beautiful volume at a very low price. It is a perfect way to introduce yourself and others to this giant of the 20th century.
The book begins with Hayek's most excellent essay on money. It is also his most radical. He plainly says that central banks cannot be reformed. There can never be sound money so long as they are in charge. He calls for their complete abolition, no compromises accepted. He wants the market in charge of money from top to bottom.
His words predicting crisis followed by wild swings in valuation are up to the minute. He also relates the quality of money with the recurrence of crisis, showing an excellent application of Austrian theory.
Hayek was deeply influenced by Mises, and this shows here in the area of money.
The second essay is "The Pretense of Knowledge," his shocking Nobel speech that explained why the very idea of government in our times is unintellectual, presumptuous, and untenable. He is as critical of socialism as he is of interventionism. He shows that the state is not capable of doing all that it is charged with doing, and why conceding it any role in social and economic management is dangerous to liberty.
It was not the speech everyone expected. But it lived up to Hayek's lifelong commitment to telling truth to power.
This small book, just right for sticking in your back pocket or purse, is really a first in the Hayekian literature: small form, powerful words, and by the great man himself.
Excellent work in just a small number of pages. Hayek really shines here, and this is a great introduction to his thinking to those who have not read him before.
How could a book be published at a mere 56 tiny pages? Well, there's not a wasted word to be found here. If you are a fan of concise and penetrating analysis on the notion of a free market money, this book is for you. If you are interested on the nature of the "soft" element of the science of economics and what that specifically means in relation to the dangerous misunderstanding of treating it like the physical sciences, this book is for you. If you are like me and are interested in both topics, you are just lucky. Enjoy! Side bonus to the small size, my much smarter friend whom would always ou tdebate me, fell short when I brought a copy of this to a dinner we had and was able to quickly recall some F.A. Hayek quotes. That was just too much fun. Ok I'm done, enjoy!