ANGELO M. PETRONI 

L' eredità di Hayek

N. 163

Summary — In this paper it is argued that the most important problem Hayek has left us is the relationship between the structure and evolution of social phenomena. This problem is a crucial one for the explanation of social phenomena, as well as for Hayek’s ideology as elaborated after (and in) Law, Legislation and Liberty. As far as the first aspect is concerned, it is argued that Hayek’s evolutionary theory provides no firm ground for explanation of the emergence and survival of the spontaneous (liberal) order. It is also shown that Hayek’s evolutionary point of view shares very little with the game-theoretical approach to the emergence of social norms. More generally, it is argued that there is a deep methodological contrast between the evolutionary point of view and the rational choice approach to human behaviour. As far as the second aspect is concerned, it is argued that Hayek’s evolutionary theory is largely incompatible with the concept of "negative liberty" as formulated in The Constitution of Liberty. For this purpose, Hayek’s theory of law is compared with Bruno Leoni’s theory. As a final point, it is argued that the greatest legacy of Hayek is represented by his analyses of the structures of market and democracy. These analyses are grounded in the concept of competition, but are completely independent from any evolutionary theory, including Hayek’s own.