Abstract

NOTTURNO, Mark A. The poverty of economism: Freedom, calculation, and the law. discus.filos [online]. 2012, vol.13, n.20, pp.57-94. ISSN 0124-6127.

Karl Popper and Friedrich von Hayek are remembered as two of the 20^th century's greatest proponents of open society. They both were born in Vienna. They both were attracted to socialism early in life. And they both wrote seminal critiques of socialism that revealed its fundamental flaws. They were also very close friends, helped each other in their careers, and were generally regarded as philosophical allies. But Hayek's views about democracy, rationality, and economism are fundamentally at odds with Popper's -and perhaps even- with open society itself. This paper focuses upon their differences about economism. It argues that Popper's critique of Marx's economism also applies to Hayek; that Hayek was 'prepared' to accept socialism if it could be as efficient and productive as the market; that Popper wasn't; and that it is impossible to realize Hayek's idea of freedom for the very same reason that Hayek thought socialism could not succeed.

Keywords : Calculation problem; economism; Hayek; piecemeal engineering; Popper; open society; rule of law.

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