Evolution of institutions and orders of actions in Hayek: two different theories of two distinct spontaneous phenomena

It is common knowledge that “spontaneous order” is one of the pivotal concepts of F.A. Hayek’s thought. In this regard, Jason Potts (2013) pointed out that Hayek’s work contains two different mechanisms that tend to overlap within this concept of spontaneous order, namely the evolution of rules and network coordination. This chapter intends to delve further into the issue and draw this distinction even more radically. In particular, it will argue that we are not dealing simply with two different mechanisms within a unified theory, but with two distinct theories (which may or may not be combined): (i) the theory of the spontaneous evolution of social institutions and (ii) the theory of the spontaneous order of actions.