Knowledge Problem

Learnliberty.org: Unplanned Order

Lynne Kiesling

I’ve been enjoying the new videos available at LearnLiberty, all of which give clear, insightful discussions of fundamental concepts of classical liberalism (including economics). My highlight of the day is Tom Bell’s “Can order be unplanned?”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPICY2SXgn0]

The answer is yes. Here Tom explores the rich intellectual history of the concept of spontaneous order, and how individuals pursuing their own ends can coordinate their decentralized actions in ways that lead to the emergence of unplanned order. His brief discussion explains the concepts, refers to its articulation by Adam Smith and F.A. Hayek, and shows how the answer to “who’s in charge here?” can be “no one” without society descending into chaos.