Chapter 3 Editor's Foreword

one Hayek's new book is the first volume of his Collected Works, the standard edition of Hayek's writings.Readers must have a deep feeling that the arguments in this new work are fast-paced and clear-cut, with concrete examples and sharp arguments from time to time. To understand the background of this book. In 1978, at the age of 80, Hayek, who had fought all kinds of socialism all his life, hoped to bring the debate to an end.He envisioned a formal grand debate, probably in Paris, pitting the leading theorists of socialism against the leading intellectuals in favor of a market order.The question they will be discussing is: "Is socialism wrong?" Proponents of the market order will prove that socialism is wrong, and has always been, whether based on science, fact, or logic; The repeated failure of the application of socialist ideas in many areas of practice is, on the whole, a direct consequence of these scientific fallacies.

For practical reasons, the idea of ​​this grand debate had to be shelved.How, for example, are the representatives of socialism elected?Will it be difficult for socialists to agree on who should represent them?And even in the unlikely event that they agree, can they be expected to acknowledge the true conclusions of such a debate?Getting people to admit their mistakes publicly is not easy. However, Hayek's colleagues with whom he had discussed the idea were less willing to abandon it and encouraged him to write down his main arguments in favor of free markets in a manifesto.What was initially conceived as a short manifesto expanded into a three-part monolith, which was then condensed into this little book—or, rather, a long manifesto.Some fragments of the original tome have been preserved for publication in a separate tenth volume.

Standing on the standpoint of economics and evolution, Hayek evaluated the nature, origin and development of different moral norms of socialism and market economy, and listed one by one what he called the "extended order" of the market that bestows on human beings. A variety of unusual forces - form civilizations and promote their development.Hayek also, in a way that sometimes recalls Freud's "Civilization and Its Discontents"—albeit to very different conclusions—assesses the gains and losses of this civilization, and the market order once threatened. Consequences of destruction.His conclusion is: "Facts alone can never determine right from wrong, but if there is a wrong understanding of what is reasonable, what is correct and beneficial, it will change the facts and the environment in which we live, and may even destroy what has already been obtained. Individuals, buildings, art, and cities that develop (which we have long known to be vulnerable to the destructive forces of morality and ideology of all kinds), and that destroy traditions, institutions, and relationships, And without these things, it would be almost impossible to achieve the above achievements, or to restore them."

two Publishing "The Complete Works of Hayek" is to allow readers to really read all of his works for the first time.The editorial approach is thematic and, within this layout, chronological order is also followed, if possible. The Complete Works begins with two closely related works on the limits of reason and planning in the social sciences, a new work and The Uses and Abuses of Reason: The Counter-Revolution of Science and Related Essays, never before published in the UK This book.Then came two anthologies of historiography and biography (Tendencies in Economic Thought: From Bacon to Cannan, The Austrian School and the Fate of Liberalism).The articles in these two volumes have never been published together before, more than half of which were previously available only in German, and about a quarter of the previous volume are from important previously never published manuscripts.

The next four volumes contain most of Hayek's economics writings: Nations and Gold, Money and Nations, Economic Studies, and The Theory of Money and Industrial Fluctuations. Then came three volumes of literature, historical records and polemical essays: The Debate with Keynes and Cambridge, The Debate with Socialism, and the famous Correspondence of Karl Popper and Hayek.The correspondence between these two close friends and thought partners spanned 50 years, producing in-depth debates on philosophy, methodology, and many of the major issues of our time. These volumes are followed by two new collections of Hayek's essays and a book of interviews and informal lectures on theoretical and practical issues: Dialogues with Hayek, which it is hoped will bring his thinking to a deeper level. Read widely.

The above 14 volumes draw upon, and organize most of them from, the extensive Hayek archives housed at Stanford University's Hoover Institution of War, Revolution, and Peace, as well as the closely related Mahrup Archives and Popper Archives.Other rich archival material from around the world will also be drawn upon. The first volume of the "Complete Works" belongs to Hayek's new work, which of course eliminates the need for major editing.Subsequent volumes will be published in errata, revised, and annotated form, with prefaces by eminent scholars giving their historical and theoretical background.

The final volumes of the Collected Works are Hayek's classics, including The Road to Serfdom, Individualism and Economic Order, The Charter of Liberty, and Law, Legislation, and Liberty.These works are still available in other editions.It is estimated that it will take 10 to 12 years to complete the complete collection. The editor is willing to make this set of complete works as complete as possible with a serious and responsible attitude.Articles that differ slightly in form or in different languages ​​are therefore published entirely in English or in an English translation, and always in their most complete final form, unless those changes or the resulting temporal differences are of theoretical or historical significance.Short essays of temporary value, such as brief newspaper reviews and a few lines of book commentary written by Hayek while he was editing Economics, were deleted.Of course, the published letters are mainly those that are relevant to Hayek's written and theoretical work in economics, psychology, life story, and political theory and philosophy.The material used to edit the volumes, as well as the few short essays that were removed, are available to scholars at the Hoover Institution.

three It is a huge and expensive job to sort out such a standard edition of the complete works.This was greatly helped, and first and foremost thanks to W. G. Campbell, director of the Hoover Institution for War, Revolution, and Peace at Stanford University, who generously agreed to write Haye for this project and for the editors Kechuan provides the most basic support.The genius behind this gigantic project was Walter S. Morris of the Vera and Walter Foundation, without whose advice and funding it would have been difficult to organize and carry out.The directors of two other institutes, the Institute of Humanities at George Mason University and the Institute of Economic Affairs in London, have been very concerned about the implementation of this plan and provided valuable suggestions.The editors are especially grateful to Leonard P. Lizio, Walter Grind, and John Blundell of the Institute for the Humanities, and Sir Harris and John B. Wood of the Institute of Economic Affairs.Norman Franklin of Rotledger Keegan Paul, London, has been Hayek's publisher for many years, and his constant support and advice have been equally invaluable.Finally, the successful implementation of this project would not have been possible without the financial support of the sponsoring organizations whose names are listed at the beginning of this volume, to whom all those involved in the work on this volume are deeply indebted .The support of these patrons—institutes and foundations on four continents—not only testifies to the international prestige of Hayek's work, but also provides a very vivid picture of what Hayek called "the extended order of human cooperation." portrayal.The editors also wish to acknowledge the assistance with this project of the Wiener Erhard Foundation in Sausalito, California, and the Diessen Foundation in Cologne, West Germany (now part of Germany - translator).

WW Bartley III