Extended Order
Extended order is an economics and sociology concept introduced by Friedrich Hayek in his book ''The Fatal Conceit''. Hayek describes an extended order as the outcome of a system that embraces specialization and trade, and he claims that it "constitutes an information gathering process, able to call up, and put to use, widely dispersed information that no central planning agency, let alone any individual, could know as a whole, possess or control.”Hayek, F.A. "The Fatal Conceit: The Errors of Socialism". The University of Chicago Press. 1991. The result is an interconnected web where people can benefit from the actions and knowledge of those they don't know. This is possible and efficient, in Hayek's view, because a proper legal framework replaces trust, which is only practical in small circles of people who know each other socially. The extended order is at the heart of Hayek's thesis, in ''The Fatal Conceit'', where he argues that "our civilization depends, not only for its orig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes what's viewed as basic elements in the economy, including individual agents and markets, their interactions, and the outcomes of interactions. Individual agents may include, for example, households, firms, buyers, and sellers. Macroeconomics analyzes the economy as a system where production, consumption, saving, and investment interact, and factors affecting it: employment of the resources of labour, capital, and land, currency inflation, economic growth, and public policies that have impact on these elements. Other broad distinctions within economics include those between positive economics, describing "what is", and normative economics, advocating "what ought to be"; between economic theory and applied economics; between ratio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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The Lessons Of History
''The Lessons of History'' is a 1968 book by historians Will Durant and Ariel Durant. The book provides a summary of periods and trends in history they had noted upon completion of the 10th volume of their momentous eleven-volume ''The Story of Civilization''. Will Durant stated that he and Ariel "made note of events and comments that might illuminate present affairs, future probabilities, the nature of man, and the conduct of states." Thus, the book presents an overview of the themes and lessons observed from 5,000 years of human history, examined from 12 perspectives: geography, biology, race, character, morals, religion, economics, socialism, government, war, growth and decay, and progress. Reception John Barkham called the work a "masterpiece of distillation", praising the authors' balanced treatment of such concepts as the trade-offs between liberty and equality and the tensions between religion and secularism in modern societies. Notes References * Will and Ariel Dura ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Human Evolution
Human evolution is the evolutionary process within the history of primates that led to the emergence of ''Homo sapiens'' as a distinct species of the hominid family, which includes the great apes. This process involved the gradual development of traits such as human bipedalism and language, as well as interbreeding with other hominins, which indicate that human evolution was not linear but a web.Human Hybrids (PDF). Michael F. Hammer. ''Scientific American'', May 2013. The study of human evolution involves several scientific disciplines, including physical anthropology ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Libertarian Theory
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's encroachment on and violations of individual liberties; emphasizing the rule of law, pluralism, cosmopolitanism, cooperation, civil and political rights, bodily autonomy, free association, free trade, freedom of expression, freedom of choice, freedom of movement, individualism and voluntary association. Libertarians are often skeptical of or opposed to authority, state power, warfare, militarism and nationalism, but some libertarians diverge on the scope of their opposition to existing economic and political systems. Various schools of Libertarian thought offer a range of views regarding the legitimate functions of state and private power, often calling for the restriction or dissolution of coercive social institutions. Different catego ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Systems Theory
Systems theory is the interdisciplinary study of systems, i.e. cohesive groups of interrelated, interdependent components that can be natural or human-made. Every system has causal boundaries, is influenced by its context, defined by its structure, function and role, and expressed through its relations with other systems. A system is "more than the sum of its parts" by expressing synergy or emergent behavior. Changing one component of a system may affect other components or the whole system. It may be possible to predict these changes in patterns of behavior. For systems that learn and adapt, the growth and the degree of adaptation depend upon how well the system is engaged with its environment and other contexts influencing its organization. Some systems support other systems, maintaining the other system to prevent failure. The goals of systems theory are to model a system's dynamics, constraints, conditions, and relations; and to elucidate principles (such as purpose, meas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Self-organization Self-organization, also called spontaneous order in the social sciences, is a process where some form of overall order arises from local interactions between parts of an initially disordered system. The process can be spontaneous when sufficient energy is available, not needing control by any external agent. It is often triggered by seemingly random fluctuations, amplified by positive feedback. The resulting orga |