Who Was Hayek?

There is a famous internet comparison of the world’s two most famous Hayek’s—Salma and Friedrich. Obviously, Salma is more well-known, but Friedrich may be gaining on her. He has appeared in numerous books and scholarly articles recently, but there is little agreement about who he was. Some portray him as an evil villain who has subjected the world to the horrors of “neoliberalism,” and its disruptive social effects. Others have argued that he is much closer to Rawls and Keynes and would have supported a generous welfare state to ameliorate the social problems his preferred policies generated. Still others view him as a heroic defender of libertarian views about the need to limit state intervention in society, and particularly in markets. Salma must be increasingly jealous, but probably confused about who exactly this nominal competitor was.