F. A. Hayek, Michael Oakeshott, and the Concept of Spontaneous Order

Abstract

The relationship between F. A. Hayek and Michael Oakeshott presents a puzzle to those interested in classical liberalism and the concept of spontaneous order. Hayek and Oakeshott were arguably two of the most influential postwar critics of state planning and defenders of liberty in the Anglo-American world. They were at least good acquaintances from years in London, exchanging comments on one another’s work into the late 1960s.1 After decades of writing on questions of liberty, the rule of law, and a free society both produced synoptic books in the 1970s—Hayek’s Law, Legislation and Liberty trilogy, published between 1973 and 1979, and Oakeshott’s On Human Conduct, published in 1975. These works are not only the culmination of their individual philosophical projects, but they represent a convergence of their ideas after decades of apparent disagreement. For despite their considerable affinities, Hayek and Oakeshott gave every impression of being intellectually at odds with one another throughout their long and distinguished careers.KeywordsPolitical TheoryEconomic OrderMoral RuleMarket OrderCentral PlannerThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.