Assured Quote by Friedrich August von Hayek
“There is perhaps no single factor contributing so much to people's frequent reluctance to let the market work as their inability to conceive how some necessary balance, between demand and supply, between exports and imports, or the like, will be brought about without deliberate control. The conservative feels safe and content only if he is assured that some higher wisdom watches and supervises change, only if he knows that some authority is charged with keeping the change "orderly.”
About This Quote
Source Book: The Road to Serfdom, Friedrich Hayek, 1944
People resist market mechanisms because they cannot imagine spontaneous balance without central control, preferring authority to manage change.
In simple terms: Fear of uncontrolled markets leads to desire for overseers.
Key Takeaway
Recognize and trust emergent order.
Themes
economics
trust
authority
spontaneity
Mood
skeptical
analytical
Type
philosophical
political
When to use this quote
- business policy
- government regulation
- market design
- public discourse
Key Concepts
spontaneous order
central planning
risk perception
Questions to Reflect On
- How can we demonstrate that markets self‑balance?
- What safeguards preserve stability without stifling freedom?
A Different Perspective
Markets can still fail without safeguards; trust must be built.
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