ABSTRACT OF PAPER
Title: Friedrich Hayek on Social Justice: Taking Hayek Seriously
Author: IKEDA Yukihiro
It is well-known that Friedrich Hayek denies the concept of social justice, a general expression widely used in daily face-to-face conversations and mass media. The champion of the market economy claims that it can be justified only in the societies in which there is a strict order of preference. In the capitalist society where the preferences of the players are totally diversified, this concept simply cannot make sense, he thought. Thus the concept itself is a typical example of animistic way of thinking in his terminology, justifiable only in old tribunal societies or in families with limited number of the members. Using Hayek’s best seller, Road to Serfdom (1944), Law, Legislation, and Liberty (1973-79) as well his last book, Fatal Conceit (1988), I shall investigate his social political theories with special attention to this concept. The paper contributes to identify Hayek’s unique and provocative position in the long history of utilitarianism.
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