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SPONTANEOUS GROWTH, USE OF REASON, AND CONSTITUTIONAL DESIGN: IS F. A. HAYEK’S SOCIAL THOUGHT CONSISTENT?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 June 2018

Régis Servant
Régis Servant*
Affiliation:
PHARE (servantregis@gmail.com).
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Abstract

Many commentators have pointed out the presence of a tension, even a contradiction or inconsistency, between two theses advanced by Friedrich Hayek: that the growth of institutions ought to be spontaneous rather than consciously designed, and that the conscious design of a constitution is necessary, so as to secure a desirable social order. Our paper shows via textual analysis that, far from being irreconcilable, these two theses, on the contrary, complement each other.

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Journal of the History of Economic Thought , Volume 40 , Issue 3 , September 2018 , pp. 353 - 376
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Copyright © The History of Economics Society 2018 

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Footnotes

We would like to thank the editors and three anonymous referees for their helpful comments on previous versions of this article. Any errors or omissions are our own.

References

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