Aspects Of The Rise Of Economic Individualism

Excerpt from Aspects of the Rise of Economic Individualism: A Criticism of Max Weber and His School This book is an attempt to provide a more realistic treatment than has been found hitherto of a topic which has of late years been widely discussed. It is an attempt to use a historical instead of a sociological method to solve historical problems. It was first written in 1928 - 9 as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of Cambridge, from material mostly collected during the tenure of a research Studentship at Emmanuel College. It was written in such leisure time as I was able to afford while lecturing at the University of Leeds, and has now been revised and rewritten in leisure moments at Cape Town. Access to libraries has been a little difficult during the actual period of writing, and I am conscious that there are some gaps in my bibliography. I regret especially my non-access to certain German works and Continental periodicals. Despite this, I venture to claim that my essay does make some new contributions to the literature of the subject. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

“These essays . . . bring great learning and . . . intelligence to bear upon economic and social issues of central importance to our era.” —Henry Hazlitt, Newsweek In this collection of writings, Nobel laureate Friedrich A. Hayek discusses topics from moral philosophy and the methods of the social sciences to economic theory as different aspects of the same central issue: free markets versus socialist planned economies. First published in the 1930s and 40s, these essays continue to illuminate the problems faced by developing and formerly socialist countries. F. A. Hayek, recipient of the Medal of Freedom in 1991 and winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics in 1974, taught at the University of Chicago, the University of London, and the University of Freiburg. Among his other works published by the University of Chicago Press is The Road to Serfdom, now available in a special fiftieth anniversary edition. “There is much interesting and valuable material in this meaty . . . book which must ultimately help the world make up its mind on a vital issue: to plan or not to plan?” —S. E. Harris, The New York Times “Those who disagree with him cannot afford to ignore him . . . This is especially true of a book like the present one.” —George Soule, Nation