The Secularization of Providential Order

F. A. Hayek's Political-Economic Theology

Datos Bibliográficos

ID12662471
AutoresLars Cornelissen (0000-0002-9552-0206, University of Brighton, autor de correspondencia)
Año2017
Volumen18
Número8
Páginas660-676
Fecha de publicación2017-05-16
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaPolitical Theology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1462-317X • E-ISSN: 1743-1719
EditorialRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/1462317x.2017.1325990
OpenAlexW2615904926
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas8
Referencias citadas28

In this article I argue that the concept of spontaneous order that underlies F. A. Hayek's political-economic thought is a secularized version of classical liberalism's understanding of order as providential. In Adam Ferguson's writings on history and social order, from which Hayek draws the notion of spontaneous order, the classical liberal paradigm reveals its intimate connection to providential theology. It is in three features of Ferguson's thought, namely his understanding of order, the politics of laissez-faire he dictates, and his providential optimism, that a providential theology reveals itself. Hayek's restatement of liberalism involves the secularization of this notion of order, which forces him both to ground his thought in a different ontology and to formulate a different politics. By contrasting Hayek's political economy to Ferguson's thought I trace the implications of this secularization. In the conclusion I contend that despite his secularizing gesture, Hayek does not succeed at emptying his understanding of order of all theological traces. Consequently, his notion of “spontaneous order” still carries a distinct theological charge, making it impossible for Hayekian political economy to countenance the destruction wrought by markets

Classical liberalism · Economics · Epistemology · Liberalism · Order (exchange · Political science · Political theology · Politics · Secularization · Sociology · Spontaneous order · Theology · Economic Theory and Institutions · Law · Philosophy · Political Economy and Marxism · Political Philosophy and Ethics