Manhattan Institute Announces Sean McMeekin as Hayek Book Prize Winner

New York, NY (April 9, 2026) —The Manhattan Institute (MI) is pleased to announce that Sean McMeekin has won the 22nd annual Hayek Book Prize for his book To Overthrow the World: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Communism (Basic Books, 2025). McMeekin will receive a $100,000 award and deliver the annual Hayek Lecture in New York City on June 4.

McMeekin, whose book traces the evolution of Communism from a seductive ideal of a classless society into the ruling doctrine of tyrannical regimes, was among six finalists:  

• Phil Gramm and Don Boudreaux, The Triumph of Economic Freedom: Debunking the Seven Great Myths of American Capitalism. (5/13/2025; Rowman & Littlefield)
• Sean McMeekin, To Overthrow the World: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Communism. (9/10/24; Basic Books)
• Pablo A. Peña, Human Capital for Humans: An Accessible Introduction to the Economic Science of People. (8/26/25; University of Chicago Press)
• Brian Potter, The Origins of Efficiency (10/14/25; Stripe Press)
• George Selgin, False Dawn: The New Deal and the Promise of Recovery, 1933–1947. (4/15/2025; University of Chicago Press)
• Nicholas Wade, The Origin of Politics: How Evolution and Ideology Shape the Fate of Nations. (9/9/2025; Harper)

“Dr. McMeekin’s superb scholarship shows how socialism has failed horrendously every time it has been imposed, just as Hayek predicted,” said John Tierney, the chair of the Hayek jury. “The book draws on new evidence to present a chilling chronicle of the Left's unrelenting willingness to use coercion and violence against its enemies. Given the newfound enthusiasm for socialism, censorship and other authoritarian measures in the West, the book’s lessons could not be more timely.”

“Hayek’s Road to Serfdom was an inspiration to me, as it has been to so many others grappling with the continued appeal of communism despite its long track record of producing poverty, tyranny, violence and human misery,” Sean McMeekin added. “It is not enough, as Hayek showed, to simply dismiss collectivist doctrines as wrongheaded: one must take the ideas seriously, investigate them properly, and see where they lead once activists and politicians try to apply them to the real world. I am humbled and grateful to be added to the honor roll of Hayek award winners who are carrying on this vital conversation, seeking to uphold western ideals about freedom and the dignity of the individual. Liberty is always worth defending.”

About the Hayek Lecture and Book Prize  

Political philosopher and Nobel laureate F. A. Hayek, author of groundbreaking works such as The Road to Serfdom and The Constitution of Liberty, was the key figure in the20th-century revival of classical liberalism. He was also a formative influence on the Manhattan Institute. When our founder, Sir Antony Fisher, asked how best to reverse the erosion of freedom, Hayek advised him not to begin with politics per se but to fight first on the battlefield of ideas. The Hayek Lecture and Prize affirm and celebrate this mission. With its $100,000 purse, it ranks among the world’s most generous honors for books.