Books The Ethics of F.A. Hayek  by Graham Walker (Author)

"The Ethics of F.A. Hayek" by Graham Walker explores the moral and philosophical foundations underlying Friedrich August Hayek’s work in economics and political theory. Hayek’s ethics are rooted in his appreciation of evolved social institutions, such as markets and law, which he saw as emergent orders that cannot be fully designed or improved by rational planning alone. Moral rules, for Hayek, evolved to balance individual freedom with social coexistence, emphasizing respect for tradition, rule of law, and spontaneous order.

Walker highlights Hayek’s view that morality lies between instinct and reason, enabling complex societies by creating boundaries for free behavior. He warns against the "fatal conceit" of rationalism—the belief that humans can redesign social institutions better than tradition and evolutionary processes have. Hayek defended moral traditions as crucial to maintaining the free society, skepticism of socialism’s attempt to impose top-down control, and criticized overly rationalistic liberal notions that dismiss traditional moral constraints.