The balance between designed and spontaneous order, which is part of Leif Smith's concept of "Freeorder" and inspired by Hayek's work, means to me that structure and control, including limits, are necessary. The eternal questions are what, when, how much, and who gets to decide.
I want to free up individual innovation so we all have lots of choices. At the same time, humans have struggled for thousands of years regarding what laws should be in place when we make mistakes and disagree. Your goat runs into my yard, and dies. Who is responsible for the cost of replacing the goat? Did the community discover a problem that might impact others? Have many goats died under the same circumstances? Maybe something needs to be done? How do we course correct quickly when our great idea become riddled with unintended consequences?
On the spectrum of how much control, I tend to the side of spontaneous order. However, I also believe that judiciously applied designed order can actually make spontaneous order better and vice versa. The fun part (she says sarcastically) is negotiating with other people - and the institutions they serve - on what that balance should be when we are all entrenched in our positions. And, how do we execute and enforce those agreements when necessary?
Thank you!
The balance between designed and spontaneous order, which is part of Leif Smith's concept of "Freeorder" and inspired by Hayek's work, means to me that structure and control, including limits, are necessary. The eternal questions are what, when, how much, and who gets to decide.
I want to free up individual innovation so we all have lots of choices. At the same time, humans have struggled for thousands of years regarding what laws should be in place when we make mistakes and disagree. Your goat runs into my yard, and dies. Who is responsible for the cost of replacing the goat? Did the community discover a problem that might impact others? Have many goats died under the same circumstances? Maybe something needs to be done? How do we course correct quickly when our great idea become riddled with unintended consequences?
On the spectrum of how much control, I tend to the side of spontaneous order. However, I also believe that judiciously applied designed order can actually make spontaneous order better and vice versa. The fun part (she says sarcastically) is negotiating with other people - and the institutions they serve - on what that balance should be when we are all entrenched in our positions. And, how do we execute and enforce those agreements when necessary?
No answers, just hopefully better questions.