Some Problems with Spontaneous Order

Abstract

In this paper I criticize certain aspects of the Hayekian distinction between "spontaneous" and "constructed" orders. While I contend that the distinction is useful as a descriptive matter, it cannot serve as a normative guide because the distinction depends entirely on the observer's frame of reference. In practice, the antirationalist premises behind Hayek's prescriptions against constructed order make it impossible either to recognize injustice or to correct it without engaging in "rational constructivism."

Keywords: F.A. Hayek, spontaneous order, constructed order, rationalism, Burke, conservatism, libertarianism