The Fatal Conceit

A critique of socialism by the Nobel Prize–winning economist: “The energy and precision with which Mr. Hayek sweeps away his opposition is impressive.” —The Wall Street Journal

In this work, F.A. Hayek—a pioneer in monetary theory and proponent of libertarian philosophy—gives the main arguments for the free-market case and presents his manifesto on the “errors of socialism.” Hayek argues that socialism has, from its origins, been mistaken on factual, and even on logical, grounds and that its repeated failures in the many different practical applications of socialist ideas that the twentieth century witnessed were the direct outcome of these errors. He labels as the “fatal conceit” the idea that “man is able to shape the world around him according to his wishes.”

“The achievement of The Fatal Conceit is that it freshly shows why socialism must be refuted rather than merely dismissed—then refutes it again.” —Fortune