Photo of young artillery ensign Friedrich Hayek (1918)

They sent a photo of the young artillery ensign Friedrich Hayek (1918). The one who would later receive the Nobel Prize in Economics, discover the idea of scattered knowledge, formalize the concept of spontaneous order, and write one of the major political books of the 20th century, The Road to Slavery.

Attached to the photo is Hayek's memoirs about the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, whom the economist met in August 1918.

There used to be a wasteland between the railway tracks and the train station in Bad Isle, where 60 years ago, during the holiday season, before the departure of the night train to Vienna, festivities were held.

I think that was the last day of August 1918, when, in a noisy crowd of young officers returning to the front after a vacation, two artillery ensigns realized that they must have known each other. I don't know if it was some sort of family resemblance, or if we had actually met before, but something prompted everyone to ask the question: "Are you not Wittgenstein?" (or maybe "You're not Hayek?"). Anyway, we spent the night together on the road to Vienna, and although we tried to sleep most of the night, we were able to talk a little.

Some details of this conversation made a strong impression on me. He was not only greatly annoyed by the excitement of the noisy and, most likely, half-drunk officers who filled the car, and did not even think to hide his contempt for the human race as a whole, but at the same time he was completely sure that any of his relatives, however distant, should adhere to those the same standards as himself. And he wasn't so wrong! I was then very young and inexperienced, barely 19, and the product of what would now be called a puritanical upbringing, whereby the ice bath my father plunged into in the morning was seen as an excellent means of disciplining the body and mind (although rarely imitated). But Ludwig Wittgenstein was 10 years older than me.

What struck me most about this conversation was a strong passion for truthfulness in everything (it was only when I was at university that I recognized in this desire the style characteristic of the young Viennese intellectuals of the previous generation). This truthfulness became almost fashionable in that border group, which consisted of purely Jewish and purely noble intellectuals, with whom I later associated so much. It meant a lot more than just not lying. It was necessary to "live" according to the truth, and not to endure any pretentiousness either in oneself or in others. Sometimes the result was outright rudeness. Every worldly convention was subjected to analysis and denounced as falsehood. Wittgenstein was simply very consistent with himself. Sometimes I felt in him a certain perverse pleasure in the way he revealed the falsity of his feelings and how he constantly tried to cleanse himself of all falsehood.

Grigory Bazhenov 2022-08-18