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The book, as it stands, seems to me to be one of the most frightful muddles I have ever read, with scarcely a sound proposition in it beginning with page 45, and yet it remains a book of some interest, which is likely to leave its mark on the mind of the reader. It is an extraordinary example of how, starting with a mistake, a remorseless logician can end up in bedlam.

Friedrich Hayek#165

CritiqueCriticismInfluenceLogic

About this quote

What does it mean?
Hayek critiques a book as logically incoherent and mistaken from page 45 onward, yet notes it remains influential and likely to affect readers deeply.
In plain terms
The book is full of errors and confusion but still manages to leave a strong mark on those who read it.
What can you take from it?
A flawed argument can still be influential if delivered with relentless logic.

Where it applies

  • reading reviews
  • evaluating arguments
  • academic critique

Putting it to work

  • spot logical fallacies
  • assess influence vs. quality

Questions to consider

  • Can a bad idea still change the world?
  • How much influence is too much for a flawed work?

Another view

This critique assumes the reader knows the specific book being referenced.

More from Friedrich Hayek

  1. Whenever it is necessary that one of several conflicting opinions should prevail and when one would have to be made to prevail by force if need be, it is less …

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  2. In my opinion it is a grand book... Morally and philosophically I find myself in agreement with virtually the whole of it: and not only in agreement with it, b…

    Permalink to quote #166
  3. What a free society offers to the individual is much more than what he would be able to do if only he were free.

    Permalink to quote #163

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