Learning from Hayek on knowledge and the state

John Maynard Keynes of Bloomsbury: 

Four Short Talks 

17 February 2009 

The inaugural event of the Center for the History of Political Economy. Presented at the Nasher Museum of Art, Duke University in conjunction with Vision and Design:  A Year of Bloomsbury,a campus­wide interdisciplinary program surrounding an exhibition of Bloomsbury art at the Nasher Museum.

Keynes and Hayek by Bruce Caldwell

Hayek for his part often spoke about the limits of our knowledge and the hubris of reason: we just do not have enough knowledge to control something as complex as an economy. George Will recently quoted Hayek on this point: “The curious task of economists is to demonstrate to men how little they know about what they imagine they can design.” 

He was also wary about the effects of government intervention on the ability of ordinary people to make decisions. As he wrote in The Road to Serfdom, “The more the state plans, the more difficult planning becomes for the individual.” 

We are still faced with deep uncertainty on where the economy is headed through the actions of the government. This may still be our greatest risk.