Nureev R.M., Latov Yu.V. The Roads to Understand «The Road to Serfdom» (Reflection on Biography of Friedrich Hayek and His Ideas). Historical and Economic Research. 2021. No. 1. P. 39-75.

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Abstract

The article refers to the famous economist Friedrich Hayek, whose 120-th birthday anniversary year before last was barely noticed. It should be mentioned that in the 1990-s, when liberal ideas were popular, he was considered to be one of the most outstanding economists of the 20th century. But nowadays the ideas of Hayek are presented more likely for exhibiting extreme liberal approaches rather than for their relevant practical application. The research gives an insight into his biography, which includes the description of similar highs and lows in his popularity during his lifetime. In 1944 after the book «The Road to Serfdom» was published, as well as in 1974 after winning the Nobel Prize, he was at the highest of his fame unlike the period of the1950-s and 1960-s when his views were barely demanded. There is a number of other strange issues in his personal biography as well as in the development of his ideas. As the representative of fourth generation of the Austrian School, he witnessed how this scientific school completely emigrated from Austria. Although he is regarded to be a distinguished economist, political analysts and philosophers refer to his ideas almost more frequently than economists. The authors of the present article proposed a problem-based approach to be used for understanding Hayek’s biography and his ideas. This included not only identifying the oddities in evolution of Hayek’s ideas and of the Austrian School as a whole, but also providing the rationale for them, which was based on highlighting the relationship between development of doctrinal economic ideas and «the spirit of the age». Special emphasis in the research was placed on explaining the historical background of the most famous work of Friedrich Hayek «The Road to Serfdom». The article was produced by the editors of joint monograph «The Road to Hayek» (Moscow: KNORUS, 2021. - 224 p., which is being published), who were influenced by reflection on variety of approaches to Hayek’s ideas and their significance.

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