F.A. Hayek on 'Social and Economic Justice' presentation copyright 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 by Barry and Deborah Brownstein

Natural Rights vs. Positive Law Finite and defined- right not to be coerced, if you do not violate someone else’s rights win-win (not scarce, one person’s use of self- ownership doesn’t conflict with someone else’s use) conduct considered Ill-defined- whatever advances ‘the common- good’ (i.e. ‘right to a good job’, ‘right to health care’, ‘right for Netscape to sell its browser’) win-lose- there is no “right to a particular state of affairs unless it is the duty of someone to secure it.” outcomes considered

Two Questions To Consider n …’whether within an economic order based on the market the concept of "social justice' has any meaning or content whatever’. n …’whether it is possible to preserve a market order while imposing upon it (in the name of social justice or any pretext) some pattern of remuneration based on the assessment of the performance or the needs of different individuals or groups by an authority possessing the power to enforce it.’

Why Does ‘Social Justice’ Sound Attractive?...‘the results of the spontaneous ordering of the market were interpreted as if some thinking being deliberately directed them, or as if the particular benefits or harm different persons derived from them were determined by deliberate acts of will’… …’the demand for 'social justice' therefore becomes a demand that the members of society should organize themselves in a manner which makes it possible to assign particular shares of the product of society to the different individuals or groups.’

‘Justice’ in a Spontaneous Order l “nobody's will can determine the relative incomes of the different people, or prevent that they be partially dependent on accident.” l “men can be allowed to decide what work to do only if the remuneration they can expect to get for it corresponds to the value their services have to those of their fellows who receive them; and that these values which their services will have to their fellows will often have no relations to their individual merits or needs.”

‘Justice’ in A Spontaneous Order Continued l “Incomes earned in the market by different persons will normally not correspond to the relative values of their services to any one person...the performance of a Beethoven sonata...or a play by Shakespeare have no 'value to society' but a value only to those who know and appreciate them.” l “The rationale of the economic game in which only the conduct of the players but not the result can be just.”

A Spontaneous Order Does Not Depends on Agreement l “Yet the complex structure of the modern Great Society would clearly not work if the remunerations of all the different activities were determined by the opinion which the majority holds of their value-or indeed if they were dependent on any one person's understanding or knowledge of the importance of all the different activities required for the functioning of the system.” l “The Great Society arose through the discovery that men can live together in peace and mutually benefiting each other without agreeing on the particular aims which they severally pursue.”

Knowledge, Justice and Spontaneous Orders l “Most of the knowledge on which we rely in the pursuit of our ends is the unintended by- product of others exploring the world in different directions from those we pursue ourselves because they are impelled by different aims; it would never have become available to us if only those ends were pursued which we regarded as desirable.” l new knowledge and discovery is inhibited if coercion is used

Are ‘Positive Rights’ Antithetical to ‘The Rule of Law’? “... to assure the same material position to people who differ greatly in their strength, intelligence, skill, knowledge and perseverance as well as in their physical and social environment, government would clearly have to treat them very differently to compensate for those disadvantages and deficiencies it could not directly alter.” “If such claims (positive rights) are to be met, the spontaneous order which we call society must be replaced by a deliberately directed organization: the cosmos of the market would have to be replaced by the taxis whose members would have to do what they are instructed to do.”

What About Discrimination? The greater the restrictions in the output market, the greater the level of discrimination –example- AT&T (pre-deregulation) The greater the competition, the lower the level of discrimination –example- technology companies

Are Markets Darwinian? In many non free-markets, the most cunning and intimidating thrive Markets are a mixture of cooperation and competition Reputation and trust are essential elements in markets In free-markets property rights are respected for all –contracts are respected and enforced –people are free to exchange The most productive do the best –but all thrive due to capital accumulation –but many volunteer and are charitable –technology helps the ill, less fit and disabled

System Dynamics n developed by Professor Jay Forrester at MIT n used and popularized by Peter Senge at MIT's Sloan School of Management n how complex feedback processes can generate problematic patterns of behavior within organizations and large-scale human systems.

Justice Based on Outcomes Based on: Hayek, "'Social' or Distributive Justice," systemic diagram: copyright 1996, Barry and Deborah Brownstein Conflict between groups increases Define problems/ solutions "Special" Interests Lobbying 4. Government intervenes to allocate shares Personification of "Society" 1. Belief in Justice based on Outcomes Dissatisfied Identify with a group Role of Government Rules to allocate shares/outcome treat people unequally The Economy 2. Dissatisfaction with "unequal" outcomes 3. Intervention sought Discovery inhibited Sphere of government increases 5. Individual freedom diminishes Economic growth declines Individual responsibility diminishes

Justice Based on Conduct Based on: Hayek, "'Social' or Distributive Justice," systemic diagram: copyright 1996, Barry and Deborah Brownstein Luck/changing circumstances 4. Government intervenes to codify/enforce "fair rules" Subjective value of "services" revealed by market 1. Belief in Justice based on Conduct Spontaneous social order Role of Government The Economy 2. Individual rewards/outcomes somewhat unpredictable 3. "Fair rules" emerge as social norms in absence of coercion Discovery stimulated Government as umpire 5. Individuals act freely, with responsibility (e.g., choose work) Economy grows Widely dispersed knowledge is used Social cooperation increases