Hayek was influenced by Bastiat's idea of Economic Harmony -- a story of spontaneous order. Also, Hayek was influenced by Henry Charles Carey, who wrote about

Hayek was influenced by Bastiat's idea of Economic Harmony -- a story of spontaneous order. Also, Hayek was influenced by Henry Charles Carey, who wrote about harmony in economics and the unity of sciences. He was Abraham Lincoln's economic advisor and put in place "The American System". Both theorists offer a classical middle ground between completely free trade and government control. They identify the objective principle as harmony and indicate the way to get there is through liberty -- and a sprinkling of protectionism.