interview
Deepak Lal on F A Hayek and Milton Friedman
2016
Summary
Deepak Lal recalls that after his disillusioning stint at the Planning Commission he returned to teaching at University College London, where the Institute of Economic Affairs was one of the few classical-liberal institutions in England at the time. Attending its meetings and lunches, he met F. A. Hayek, Milton Friedman, and others, read their work, and found in it an alternative view to central planning that he decided 'might work'. He describes this as the turning point in his thinking.
He adds a methodological anecdote: Hayek once told him that although Milton Friedman was on the same side politically, Friedman was a 'fine tuner' who did not believe in econometrics, so the two were not methodologically aligned. Lal notes that by this period Hayek had largely moved away from economics into political philosophy, having recently completed The Constitution of Liberty and related works.
Key points
- After the Planning Commission, Lal returned to teaching at University College London.
- The Institute of Economic Affairs was one of the few classical-liberal institutions in England at the time.
- Through its meetings and lunches he met Hayek, Milton Friedman, and other classical liberals.
- Reading their work gave him a viable alternative to planning and marked his intellectual turning point.
- Hayek told him Friedman was politically aligned but a 'fine tuner' who did not believe in econometrics.
- Lal notes Hayek and Friedman were therefore not on the same methodological side.
- By this period Hayek had shifted from economics toward political philosophy, having finished The Constitution of Liberty.
Transcript
Deepak Lal on F A Hayek and Milton Friedman
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbXX0sdTqEk Duration: 81.1s
Speaker 1 (00:00): After the planning commission I went back and I said this doesn’t work.
Speaker 2 (00:13): So at that time I was associated, I was teaching at London University College and the Institute
Speaker 1 (00:21): of Economic Affairs was one of the few classical liberal places in England at the time. So I went, used to go to their meetings and lunches, etc. And that’s why I met Hayek, Milton Friedman, all the other people.
Speaker 2 (00:33): And they were, yeah, they did. They were influential. So I read their works and chatted with them every now and then when they were in London. So that was the turning point, yeah. And I decided this might work and that provided an alternative view.
Speaker 1 (00:48): Well, the only thing I remember is Hayek actually telling me once, he said, Milton is on the same side politically, but he’s a fine tuner. He doesn’t believe in econometrics.
Speaker 2 (01:02): So they were not methodologically on the same side.
Speaker 1 (01:08): And Hayek, I think by that time, had moved away from economics. He just finished his Constitutional Liberty and all these other books. So it’s much more into political philosophy than this period.
Metadata and summary are AI-extracted from the source PDF and reviewed for editorial accuracy. The original work is available via the Read PDF tab above (where present); paragraph-level citation inside the PDF is deferred to a future engagement.