ABSTRACT
Hayek is thought to be the outstanding twentieth century representative of the classical liberal tradition of Locke and Adam Smith.1 His defence of this tradition came fi rst with The Constitution of Liberty and culminated in Law, Legislation and Liberty, which is the principal subject of the following analysis. His contribution to epistemology was signifi cant, particularly in the social sciences, where his position was that, in the context of the severe limits of human knowledge, only abstract and negative rules of just conduct were enforceable by government. This gave advantage to his use of Smith’s invisible hand, although, as we shall see, this is not unproblematic in the context of his championing of the market.
