By Francisco Gonzalez, JMI Development Director
As noted in my previous post, F.A. Hayek touted the idea of spontaneous order. In a free market, individuals are free to make exchanges – of goods and services, and of ideas, among other things. Planned societies are static, while free societies breed innovation and allow individuals and mankind collectively, to advance.As the result of countless exchanges of actions in the market place, no single individual (or entity) can possibly have knowledge over all of that takes place and so “experts” cannot realistically plan entire economies. For example, how can a bureaucrat say what health care is good for all 300 million Americans? Based on individual needs and desires, each individual’s health care is best when individuals can make the decisions that best fit their needs.Individuals acting with their own particular knowledge can have an impact on their own corners of the world, and when we allow individuals to make free exchanges in the marketplace, they offer their particular knowledge in the marketplace and gain knowledge from others. Successful innovations advance and bad ideas fail, based on what the market desires. Mankind takes countless leaps forward – and the spontaneous order continues.
2010
