In this episode of pplpod, we explore the life and legacy of Friedrich August von Hayek, the Austrian economist and philosopher who became a central figure in 20th-century classical liberalism. We trace his journey from his service in World War I—an experience that drove him to study economics to help avoid the mistakes that lead to war—to his tenure at the London School of Economics, where he became the primary intellectual rival of John Maynard Keynes.

Join us as we break down Hayek’s most critical ideas, including:

• The Knowledge Problem: Why central planners can never possess the dispersed information necessary to allocate resources efficiently, and how "price signals" allow for spontaneous self-organization.

• The Business Cycle: His theory that booms and busts are often caused by inflatio ...