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Beyond Hayek's Pessimism: Reason, Tradition and Bounded Constructivist Rationalism

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  • Rowland, Barbara M.

Abstract

Two competing themes – traditionalism and constitutional design – lead to inconsistency in F. A. Hayek's work. This inconsistency and its implications for understanding his thought are examined. It is shown that his failure to reconcile these conflicting emphases reflects uncertainty about the proportions of reasoned choice and unreflective rule-following in human decisions. This uncertainty is traced to Hayek's growing pessimism about modern man's ability to preserve the market and the traditions upon which the market rests. Once Hayek's pessimism is set aside, the implications of his work on tradition can be developed in a more useful direction. Realization that reason rests on a non-rational matrix and that people's choices affect that matrix should not lead towards embrace and veneration of the past, but towards emphasis on the necessity of responsible political choice in the present and future.

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  • Rowland, Barbara M., 1988. "Beyond Hayek's Pessimism: Reason, Tradition and Bounded Constructivist Rationalism," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 18(2), pages 221-241, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:bjposi:v:18:y:1988:i:02:p:221-241_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Niclas Berggren, 2009. "Choosing one’s own informal institutions: on Hayek’s critique of Keynes’s immoralism," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 139-159, June.
    2. Gedeon, Péter, 2007. "Piaci rend és társadalmi normák. Hayek elmélete a társadalmi evolúcióról [Market order and social norms. Hayeks theory of social evolution]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(1), pages 1-28.
    3. Régis Servant, 2010. "La recherche de bonnes règles sociales: objet de science et de choix démocratique ? Le cas de Friedrich Hayek," Post-Print hal-00641440, HAL.
    4. Régis Servant, 2010. "La recherche de bonnes règles sociales : objet de science ou de choix démocratique ? Le cas de Friedrich Hayek," Post-Print hal-03498010, HAL.

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