Abstract

This volume is the first of three dealing with the subjects in the title. Although Professor Hayek has defended liberal constitutionalism in earlier books, he here provides a more elaborate analysis of it and seeks to uncover the basic misconceptions that have eroded its support. The main reason for the decreased support is the belief that institutions serve human purposes only if they have been deliberately designed for those purposes, and that a society which does not serve our purposes should be redesigned to do so. In opposition to such "constructivist" views, Hayek supports an evolutionary view of society’s institutions; he believes that institutions and practices first adopted accidentally or for other purposes are preserved if experience proves them valuable. He contends that society should be allowed to evolve slowly since the vast knowledge necessary to design properly its institutions is unavailable.