Science is very popular in our time. As is science-based policy-making. But we don't always properly understand science, how it should be conducted, and how it should relate to our politics. In this week's "What Would Hayek Say?", we take a look at some of Hayek's work on the folly of applying natural science methods to the social sciences, which is part of what Hayek calls "scientism". For Hayek, the social sciences are distinguished from the natural sciences by a subjective factor, in that we take into account actors' intentions, opinions, and goals. Because we must start at the individual, subjective level, the social sciences are compositive in a way that the natural sciences are not. The social sciences predict a degree of complexity and unpredictability that should make us reflect on how we apply them to political decision-making.

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Scott B. Nelson is Research and Strategy Advisor at the Austrian Economics Center and Hayek Institut in Vienna, Austria. He is author of "Tragedy and History: The German Influence on Raymond Aron's Political Thought". His next book is "Cicero, Politics, and the 21st Century" to be published in 2022 by Academica Press. Nelson heads the reading group The Vienna Symposium (https://vienna-symposium.com).

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Universal Basic Income, or UBI, is an old idea that keeps coming back, especially when people consider the cost of living for the average individual. In this week's "What Would Hayek Say?" we take a look at this concept, which has appealed to some socialists and liberals alike, although for different reasons. Milton Friedman, for example, popularized the idea of a negative income tax, which some have likened to a universal basic income. And scholars have used Hayek's own philosophy to argue both for and against UBI, even if Hayek himself did not explicitly express his view on the matter. A universal basic income rests on two criteria: universality and unconditionality. The first of these criteria was dear to Hayek, and in both his early and late work he is open to some sort of a minimum safety net for all people. But whether UBI fits Hayek's criteria or not is a matter of dispute. Finally, our video looks at some of the practical issues raised by a universal basic income, foremost among them being its cost, as well as the experience of Switzerland and Finland which have both explored the idea in their own countries.

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Sources cited :

https://www.niskanencenter.org/hayek-...

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.c...

https://www.independent.org/pdf/tir/t...

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Scott B. Nelson is Research and Strategy Advisor at the Austrian Economics Center and Hayek Institut in Vienna, Austria. He is author of "Tragedy and History: The German Influence on Raymond Aron's Political Thought". His latest book is "Cicero, Politics, and the 21st Century". Nelson heads the reading group The Vienna Symposium

(https://vienna-symposium.com).

***

Please don't forget to like and subscribe! If you're really enjoying our work and would like to help out, then consider donating to the cause: https://www.austriancenter.com/suppor...

Every little bit helps us immensely.

***

Check out our website for more great content: https://www.austriancenter.com/

Stay up to date by signing up for our newsletter: https://www.austriancenter.com/newsle...

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AustrianCenter

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Capitalism has an unfair reputation for being about selfishness. It isn't. It's about choice. And one of those choices which we are particularly mindful of around Christmas is the choice of giving. In this Christmas special of "What Would Hayek Say" we take a look at how capitalism and individualism not only promote more prosperity, but also encourage us to be more generous to strangers.

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Scott B. Nelson is Research and Strategy Advisor at the Austrian Economics Center and Hayek Institut in Vienna, Austria. He is author of "Tragedy and History: The German Influence on Raymond Aron's Political Thought". His latest book is "Cicero, Politics, and the 21st Century". Nelson heads the reading group The Vienna Symposium (https://vienna-symposium.com).

***

Please don't forget to like and subscribe! If you're really enjoying our work and would like to help out, then consider donating to the cause: https://www.austriancenter.com/suppor...

Every little bit helps us immensely.

***

Check out our website for more great content: https://www.austriancenter.com/

Stay up to date by signing up for our newsletter: https://www.austriancenter.com/newsle...

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AustrianCenter

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Vaccine mandates have been one of the most contentious issues during the covid-19 pandemic. In this episode of "What Would Hayek Say" we tackle the matter head-on, examining the complexity of the debate on its philosophical, legal, medical, and political levels. Mixed messaging and a tendency to move the goalposts have characterized much of the debate. On the other hand, it's understandable that there will always be some confusion and the need to update our expectations and estimations in light of new information about both the virus, its variants, and the vaccines' effectiveness. As with so many political and politicized matters today, one of the unfortunate casualties of this debate has been any sense of civility, particularly in regards to those who are demonized as unscientific or incorrigible for being sceptical about the vaccine or its mandate. Especially tragic has been the tendency of politicians and intellectuals to sow division among the population in the name of unity. Time will tell how things will change - or not - once more people are vaccinated. But for Hayek, whose warnings about scientism and the pretense of knowledge ring truer today than ever, it's imperative we introduce some humility into our public debate; for humility is the great virtue of science and a liberal society.

Journal of Infectious Diseases study:

https://academic.oup.com/jid/article/...

Byram W. Bridle article:

https://theconversation.com/5-factors...

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Scott B. Nelson is Research and Strategy Advisor at the Austrian Economics Center and Hayek Institut in Vienna, Austria. He is author of "Tragedy and History: The German Influence on Raymond Aron's Political Thought". His next book is a work of political philosophy on the Roman orator Marcus Tullius Cicero. Nelson heads the reading group The Vienna Symposium (https://vienna-symposium.com).