About this Collection
Hayek – A Tribute
This simple biographical tribute was created by John Raybould, who with Sally Pipes and Mike Walker, was one of the three founding staff members of Canada’s Fraser Institute. John later worked for the Institute of Economic Affairs in London. In 1992, Mike Walker asked John if he would provide a tribute to Hayek for the General Meeting of the Mont Pelerin Society to be held in Vancouver that year. John gathered a considerable amount of material about Hayek’s life with the help of his son, Lawrence Hayek. The photographs, letters, objects, and academic texts they found enabled John to create a slide show and illustrate the scholar’s life in pictures. The slide show was such a success that at Milton Friedman’s suggestion it was subsequently made into the film Hayek: A Tribute. This was organized by John, produced by Eben Wilson of Main Communications, and published by the Adam Smith Institute. The scope of Hayek’s life and work become forcibly apparent through the film; his early days at the LSE, the development of his ideas in Chicago, the wilderness years, and later recognition as the result of Keynesian failures and the rediscovery of the ideas of freedom. The film examines Hayek's enduring contribution to social thought within the context of his remarkable life.
Hayek – Interview Series
These three unique interviews were filmed in London while Hayek was on a visit to the Institute of Economic Affairs. Footage of Hayek is rare, and here we see a conversation with Hayek in relaxed mood — discussing ideas at length with classical liberal scholar John O’Sullivan. He tells the story of his time sharing common room privileges at Cambridge with John Maynard Keynes, and he explains how many of his own insights emerged. The scope of his ideas and their applications are well illustrated throughout more than one hour of conversation.
Hayek - Freedom’s Philosopher
This series was initiated by John Raybould, Eben Wilson, and John Burton, an IEA author. Linda Whetstone raised the funding for the project and worked with Eben Wilson to make it a reality. Eben was not only the producer but also the script writer and narrator. Illustrating Hayek’s life and ideas for audiences new to his work, this series dissects the major themes of his work for television. It divides his ideas into nine separate topics, ranging from the spontaneous order, through the rule of law, to the importance of knowledge. The short films put his ideas into accessible terms relating to ordinary people and their behavior. Stories about individuals are used as illustrations for his insights, with Hayek’s own quotations used to provide rigor to the exposition. As an introduction to the scope and progression of Hayek’s life and work, the films offer an enjoyable journey through the political economy of freedom.