In this Freeman column, Professor Sandy Ikeda writes about order that results from human action, but not human design — Hayek’s “spontaneous orders.” He focuses on money. It’s extremely useful, but it didn’t come about because some official came up with the idea and then put it into effect by legislation or decree.
That is not to say, of course, that deliberate action can’t debase money, rendering its value less certain and interfering with economic calculation. Governments do that almost invariably once they seize control over the production of money.
