Karl Marx and Rationalism
"The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design." [22].
Friedrich A. Hayek and other spontaneous order theorists believe that rationality can only be taken so far. Many social conventions and institutions are the result of a process of spontaneous ordering, that is, that they arise from the coordination of independent actions of individual agents who are unaware of the extended effects of their actions. Hayek takes an evolutionary response to rationalism, saying that this expansion of social aspects beyond the realm or capacity of human reason, is necessary to create institutions that have the ability to manage the ever widening scope of humanity. By contrast, Marxist rationalism and many of the subsequent attacks against the idea of spontaneous order are the result of what Hayek terms "constructivism" or "scientism". This is the belief that reason is the highest of human faculties, and is therefore the best method of ordering societies. Hayek believes that reason has its own failings, and that it is necessary to bear in mind that it does not have the solution to every problem. Although many of the ideas of Marx have receded into the economic background, many authors, such as Jack Knight still take from his conflict-based style of analysis, and rejecting the functionalist arguments that underlie many theories of spontaneous order [22].
"Marxist societies are centralized and monolithic. Their governments attempt to control all aspects of life. They have centrally planned economies and only one political party possesses any substantial reality. This party controls all educational and cultural activities. Freedom of expression and of access to information are expressly prevented, and the values which are encouraged are those of collective commitment to the centralized rule of the party. Anything which the party does is to be approved and anything which threatens its central role is condemned and suppressed. Marxist societies have clearly tried to organize themselves according to the principles of constructive rationalism. But, as I have argued, such principles are antithetical to the effective functioning of many essential institutions of modern complex societies. So there develops a great gulf between promise and performance in Marxist states. And this gulf persists because of the lack of self-correcting mechanisms in a system based on constructive rationalism." [34].
General Overview | Major Contributors | Game Theory Models | Objections/Arguments | Sources
