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Article: The Fatal Conceit: The Errors of Socialism; The Collected Works of F.A. Hayek, vol. 1.
- Article from:
- The Nation
- Article date:
- April 17, 1989
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1989 The Nation Company L.P. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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THE FATAL CONCEIT: The Errors of Socialism. The Collected Works of F.A. Hayek: Volume 1. Edited by W. W. Bartley III. Chicago University Press. 180 pp. $24.95.
The fatal conceit of socialism, says F. A. Hayek, is that "man is able to shape the world around him according to his wishes." The essential argument in favor of the "extended order of human cooperation," as Hayek calls capitalism, is precisely the giving up of this hubristic belief. The design of capitalism is beyond the full grasp of reason, so that its destiny is rescued from the invariably dangerous stewardship of human foresight and handed over to the well-proven keeping of its own ...