… is from page 63 of the immensely important 1976 Vol. II (“The Mirage of Social Justice”) of F.A. Hayek’s trilogy, Law, Legislation, and Liberty (footnote deleted):
It is a sign of the immaturity of our minds that we have not yet outgrown these primitive concepts and still demand from an impersonal process which brings about a greater satisfaction of human desires than any deliberate human organization could achieve, that it conform to the moral precepts men have evolved for the guidance of their individual actions.
DBx: Indeed so.
Modern society in general, and the economy in particular, is not consciously organized by anyone (thank goodness!). Therefore, its particular results in each and every circumstance are not appropriately judged as if these emanate from some conscious plan or design. It is among the gravest and most grotesque of mistakes – yet also among the most frequently made – to treat society as if it is either a conscious being or run according to a consciously devised plan.
