The role of rules in the evolution of the market system: Hayek's concept of evolutionary epistemology

Abstract

Starting from the concept of the Darwinian paradigm that, by using Darwin's principles of variation, selection, and retention, all domains from biology to economic systems can be explained, the advocates of modern evolutionary epistemology have analysed the role of thoughtful institutional design in the process of cultural evolution. In light of the issue of how human intention and evolutionary forces interact in socioeconomic processes, this paper examines the views of F. A. Hayek, the most famous follower of evolutionary epistemology, on the evolution of the market economy system. In this paper special attention will be devoted to Hayek's concept of rational liberalism and his evolutionary epistemology.