The Conservative of the Spontaneous Order

Abstract

Libertarianism itself does not hold a stance on moral issues and hence does not prevent libertarians from adopting culturally conservative or liberal positions. Though libertarianism has no position on cultural issues per se, this article argues that libertarians should intellectually oppose the ideas behind some of the current cultural developments in the West due to their constructivist nature. Based on Hayek’s critique of constructivism, I contend that many of the recent cultural shifts in society are influenced by rational constructivist ideas—namely, critical theory and deconstruction. These ideas pose an intellectual threat to libertarianism for two reasons: (1) They intellectually challenge the traditional libertarian view of the spontaneous origins of civil society, which they aim to reshape in favor of a structure that reflects a specific postmodern world view. (2) It remains uncertain how a libertarian society would function under a newly constructed social order that does not value free speech, property rights, and other fundamental principles of the current liberal order. The spontaneous order is the defining feature of libertarian social analysis, and it must be intellectually defended.