Introduction

As is so often the case, the story is in the details. The “invisible hand” encompasses more than an identity and functions. Almost every discussion of the invisible hand inevitably raises questions concerning the terms of the specification, its environment, and the process of its operation, including the different ways in which people interact and the different objectives and perceptions they have. The aggregation of the interactions yields the principle of unintended and unexpected consequences. The story of the invisible hand is wide-ranging and incredibly complex, and made more so by the ubiquity and multiplicity of interpretations. There is a vast difference between the invisible hand as a general or generic concept and particular usages. The story is about human beliefs and these are protean and heavily and selectively nuanced.

Returning to the football game example, there is a difference between the category or concept of “football” and the details of specific rules. Exemplified by the different sets of rules encountered in different neighborhoods and at different times in the same location, in order to accommodate extant local conditions, the point especially applies to pick-up games not only in football but in basketball, baseball, and soccer. There is also more to the process of interaction in football games than was initially given. Rules likely will vary depending on whether the players have pads and helmets. The game as a whole varies if the rules permit or, alternatively, prohibit certain types of blocks and certain types of tackles. The ability of offensive linemen to protect their quarterback can involve a moving rectangle within which certain blocks are permitted correlative to the prohibition of other blocks outside the rectangle. More obvious is whether or not the rules permit passing as a means of advancing the ball. Less obvious are the rules that have changed the game so that football no longer is what it once was; for example, the dropkick is no longer a part of the game.