Friedrich Hayek

"The evolution of social institutions is more important than any single person's intentions."

"Competition in ideas is as important as competition in markets."

"The road to prosperity is paved with the freedom to choose, to risk, and to fail."

"Government intervention in the economy is not a cure but a disease that requires more intervention."

"The most important aspect of freedom is the freedom to think and to speak your mind."

"Those who understand economics understand why most political proposals fail."

"The greatest enemy of progress is the belief that progress can be planned."

"Property rights are not privileges granted by society; they are fundamental to society."

"The division of labor requires trust, and trust requires the security of property rights."

"Those who promote freedom are accused of promoting selfishness; those who promote coercion are called compassionate."

"The market is democratic in the truest sense because every consumer votes daily with their purchases."

"The preservation of culture requires freedom, not government enforcement of culture."

"Those who benefit from existing arrangements will always resist change."

"The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design"

"Emergencies have always been the pretext on which the safeguards of individual liberty have been eroded"

"The fatal conceit is the idea that man is able to shape the world around him according to his wishes"

"Competition is valuable because it dispenses with the need for conscious control of individual efforts"

"The price system is the mechanism that performs miracles without anyone directing it"

"True liberalism seeks to preserve order by decentralization rather than by centralization of power"

"Knowledge of the particular circumstances of time and place can never be wholly communicated"

"A system that does not recognize private property will never work efficiently"

"Men are not born free, they must achieve their freedom through effort and understanding"

"The curious economist asks why institutions exist before asking how to change them"

"To understand economics is to understand that consequences matter more than intentions"

"The unintended consequences of our actions often teach us more than our careful plans"

"The danger to liberty comes not from the strong but from those who believe they know what is good for others"

"Wealth is not created by government but by the voluntary exchange between individuals"

"The rule of law requires that government power be limited and predictable"

"Few trends could so thoroughly undermine the very foundation of freedom as the acceptance of the principle that the state is responsible for security"

"Evolution is the source of wisdom, not reason"