Law, Legislation and Liberty is Hayek's major statement of political philosophy and one of the most ambitious yet subtle defences of a free market society ever written. A robust defence of individual liberty, it is also crucial for understanding Hayek’s influential views concerning the role of the state: far from being an innocent bystander, he argues that the state has an important role to play in defending the norms and practices of an ordered and free society. His arguments had a profound influence on the policies of Thatcher in the 1980s and resonate today in visions of the ‘Big Society’.

First published in three separate volumes, this Routledge Classics edition makes one of his most important books available in a single volume. Essential reading for understanding the background to the recent world economic turmoil and financial crisis, it also foreshadows the subsequent heated debate about regulation and political governance if such disasters are to be avoided in the future.

CONTENTS:

Foreword to the Routledge Classics Edition  Consolidated Preface  Introduction  Volume I Rules and Order  1.Reason and Evolution  2. Cosmos and Taxis  3. Principles and Expediency  4. The Changing Concept of Law  5. Nomos: The Law of Liberty  6. Thesis: The Law of Legislation  Notes  Volume 2 The Mirage of Social Justice  7. General Welfare and Particular Purposes  8. The Quest for Justice  9.  'Social’ or Distributive Justice  10. The Market Order or Catallaxy  11. The Discipline of Abstract Rules and the Emotions of the Tribal Society  Notes  Volume 3 The Political Order of a Free People  12. Majority Opinion and Contemporary Democracy  13. The Division of Democratic Powers  14. The Public Sector and the Private Sector  15. Government Policy and the Market  16. The Miscarriage of the Democratic Ideal: A Recapitualation  17. A Model Constitution  18. The Containment of Power and the Dethronement of Politics  Epilogue: The Three Sources of Human Values  Notes  Index of Authors cited in Volumes 1-3  Subject index to Volumes 1-3

AUTHOR:

F. A. Hayek (1899-1992) was one of the most influential and controversial political and economic thinkers of the Twentieth Century. He taught at the London School of Economics and the University of Chicago and was awarded a Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics in 1974. His The Road to Serfdom is also available in Routledge Classics.