Were he still alive, yesterday--May 8--the brilliant economist F.A. Hayek would have turned 105. Hayeks 1944 best-seller The Road to Serfdom played a major role in turning the intellectual tide away from economic planning.
Just to be provocative, I urge you to read this excerpt from his 1960 book The Constitution of Liberty, entitled "Why I Am Not a Conservative".
And, try the PBS documentary, "Commanding Heights" for a comparison of the waxing and waning of Hayeks influence during the twentieth century vis-a-vis John Maynard Keynes.
At the risk of being thought pedantic, I must point out that May 8 is and will always be Hayeks birthday--after all, he was born on that day. But of course he is no longer alive to celebrate it with a party.
As one who has been accused more than once of pedantry (as well as mastication, being a thespian, and other crimes against the Republic), I gratefully accept Mr. Reebs observation, and have corrected the original post.