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Normative judgments and spontaneous order: The contractarian element in Hayek's thought

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  • Robert Sugden

Abstract

This paper explores the apparent tension between Hayek's moral skepticism and his role as a defender of liberal institutions. It looks at Hayek's concept of spontaneous order, and asks whether there are any grounds for claiming that spontaneous orders have moral value. The argument from group selection is considered but rejected. Hayek is interpreted as putting most weight on arguments which show, for specific orders (such as the market and common law) that their rules assist each individual in the pursuit of his or her ends, whatever those ends may be. It is suggested that this form of argument is contractarian in character. However, Hayek's contractarianism is distinctive in that it looks for agreement among individuals within an ongoing social order, rather than among rational agents who stand outside any particular society. Copyright George Mason University 1993

Suggested Citation

  • Robert Sugden, 1993. "Normative judgments and spontaneous order: The contractarian element in Hayek's thought," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 4(3), pages 393-424, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:copoec:v:4:y:1993:i:3:p:393-424
    DOI: 10.1007/BF02393269
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Vanberg, Viktor, 1986. "Spontaneous Market Order and Social Rules," Economics and Philosophy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 2(1), pages 75-100, April.
    2. David, Paul A, 1985. "Clio and the Economics of QWERTY," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 75(2), pages 332-337, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Agnès Festré & Pierre Garrouste, 2009. "The economic analysis of social norms: A reappraisal of Hayek’s legacy," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 22(3), pages 259-279, September.
    2. Fiori Stefano, 2005. "The emergence of instructions : some open problems in Hayek's theory," CESMEP Working Papers 200504, University of Turin.
    3. Okruch Stefan, 2001. "Der Richter als Institution einer spontanen Ordnung: Einige kritische Bemerkungen zu einer Zentralfigur in Hayeks Theorie der kulturellen Evolution," ORDO. Jahrbuch für die Ordnung von Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, De Gruyter, vol. 52(1), pages 131-154, January.
    4. Robert Sugden, 2022. "Markets, merit and the dignity of labour," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 69(3), pages 323-338, September.
    5. Michael C. Munger, 2017. "Human agency and convergence: Gaus’s Kantian Parliamentarian," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 30(3), pages 353-364, September.
    6. Christian Schubert, 2013. "Is Novelty Always a Good Thing? Towards an Evolutionary Welfare Economics," Economic Complexity and Evolution, in: Guido Buenstorf & Uwe Cantner & Horst Hanusch & Michael Hutter & Hans-Walter Lorenz & Fritz Rahmeyer (ed.), The Two Sides of Innovation, edition 127, pages 209-242, Springer.
    7. Niclas Berggren, 2009. "Choosing one’s own informal institutions: on Hayek’s critique of Keynes’s immoralism," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 139-159, June.
    8. Shinji Teraji, 2014. "On cognition and cultural evolution," Mind & Society: Cognitive Studies in Economics and Social Sciences, Springer;Fondazione Rosselli, vol. 13(2), pages 167-182, November.
    9. Christian Schubert, 2014. "“Generalized Darwinism” and the quest for an evolutionary theory of policy-making," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 479-513, July.
    10. Zintl, Reinhard, 1995. "Der Nutzen unvollständiger Erklärungen: Überlegungen zur sozialwissenschaftlichen Anwendung der Spieltheorie," MPIfG Discussion Paper 95/2, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    11. Luciano Andreozzi, 2005. "Hayek Reads the Literature on the Emergence of Norms," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 227-247, September.
    12. Vlad Tarko, 2015. "The role of ideas in political economy," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 28(1), pages 17-39, March.
    13. Régis Servant, 2010. "La recherche de bonnes règles sociales: objet de science et de choix démocratique ? Le cas de Friedrich Hayek," Post-Print hal-00641440, HAL.
    14. L. Van Den Hauwe, 1998. "Evolution and the Production of Rules—Some Preliminary Remarks," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 81-117, January.
    15. Régis Servant, 2010. "La recherche de bonnes règles sociales : objet de science ou de choix démocratique ? Le cas de Friedrich Hayek," Post-Print hal-03498010, HAL.
    16. Petrick, Martin, 2013. "Reversing the rural race to the bottom: an evolutionary model of neo-endogenous rural development," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 40(4), pages 707-735.
    17. Stefano Fiori, 2006. "The emergence of institutions in Hayek’s theory: two views or one?," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 49-61, March.
    18. Kevin Vallier, 2017. "Gaus, Hayek, and the place of civil religion in a free society," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 30(3), pages 327-352, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    B31; D63;

    JEL classification:

    • B31 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought: Individuals - - - Individuals
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement

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