Published in 1921 to little acclaim, Knight’s brilliant treatise of microeconomic theory, Risk, Uncertainty, and Profit, didn’t find enthusiastic readers until 1929, when Lionel Robbins began teaching the book at the London School of Economics. Knight translated classical liberalism’s appreciation for market exchange into neoclassical theory and demonstrated that the entrepreneurial response to uncertainty is the key to understanding profit.

Ross B. Emmett is professor of economic thought in the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership and director of the Center for the Study of Economic Liberty at Arizona State University.
Economic PolicyEconomistsEconomyPhilosophy and Religion