Friedrich A. Hayek (1899-1992) was one of the twentieth century's most influential thinkers in economics, political philosophy, and social theory. His work ranged from technical macroeconomics and studies of the epistemic functions of markets, to a strident defence of liberalism and forays into evolutionary anthropology. This scholarly breadth may come at a cost: Hayek's work feels so varied as to make it daunting for students to approach.

In this Very Short Introduction, Peter J. Boettke and M. Scott King provide an overview of Hayek's work. Importantly, they argue that nearly all of Hayek's work can be read as an effort to help us understand how social coordination is possible without central command. Thus, they present a unifying framework for understanding Hayek's seemingly disparate contributions.

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