F.A. Hayek, Complexity Pioneer

Abstract

An early adopter of complexity theory in the social sciences, the Austrian school economist F. A. Hayek consciously strove to construct a grand synthesis, conceiving of society as an information system. I suggest that Hayek’s concept of complexity undergirds his promarket stances: it was his belief that because society is a complex information system, interventions which seek to transform the system as a whole inevitably run into insurmountable epistemological obstacles. Focusing mostly upon lesser-known texts dating from the 1950s and 1960s, I present a reading of Hayek concentrating on the role the concept of complexity plays in his work. Hayek viewed social complexity as inherently good and worthy of conservation from attempts to regulate society in various ways. Yet he also supported various forms of government interventionism. I argue that for Hayek complexity holds the key to determining which specific forms of intervention are permissible in Hayek’s vision of a classical liberal “Great Society.” On first impression, Hayek’s idea of complexity seems lopsided toward spontaneous order. However, he considered on multiple occasions the possibility of systemic chaos, unintended consequences of policy, and disequilibrium.