Friedrich August von Hayek (Vienna, May 8, 1899 - Freiburg, March 23, 1992) was an Austrian philosopher, jurist and economist. Exponent of the Austrian School, disciple of Friedrich von Wieser and Ludwig von Mises. He is known mainly for his defense of liberalism and for his criticism of the planned economy and socialism, which, as he maintains in The Road to Serfdom, considers a danger to individual freedom that leads to totalitarianism.