The Fatal Conceit: Friedrich Hayek - 1991

The Fatal Conceit was written by one of the most important economists and political philosophers of the twentieth century, Friedrich Hayek.

Thought to be the philosophical leader of the Thatcher and Reagan revolutions, Hayek here presents his manifesto against socialism and argues the core motivations for promoting the free-market. His argument stems from the fundamental errors of socialism on both logical and factual grounds from its very inception. Many of the failures in the practical applications of socialist ideas that have been encountered over the past century are according to Hayek attributed to these fundamental errors.

“The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine the can design.”

What Hayek describes as the ‘fatal conceit’ is the belief that people are able to alter their world and circumstances as they desire. He poses a powerful fresh outlook to the argument against socialism, achieving to present why socialism should not only be dismissed but rather entirely disproven.

The Fatal Conceit presents a concise, sound and well-researched argument making it an impactful and insightful book recommended to all with an interest in our society and financial markets.