Hayek saw market society as requiring deliberate breach of tribal solidarity.
Evidence
Hayek drew on the social theory of the Scottish Enlightenment to develop an evolutionary account of morality. Appropriating the work of Adam Smith and Adam Ferguson – for whom human history supposedly passed through a sequence of stages, from the hunter to the herdsman to the farmer to the trader – Hayek argued that the evolution from the ‘small band’ to the ‘Great Society’ required the abandonment of feelings of personal loyalty and egalitarian commitments more suitable to tribal existence. It required that the purpose-driven rules of small societies, in which individuals worked together towards shared ends, were replaced by abstract rules applicable to large numbers of strangers – and ultimately to all of humanity. From this perspective, the transition to the market economy was achieved through (deeply resented) breaches of the solidarity that governed earlier social relations. ‘Man’, Hayek contended, ‘has been civilized very much against his wishes.’ — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market, 29
Categorization
- XREF: Mirrors Lofland’s account in World of Strangers of market relations as cool, abstract dealings among strangers versus small-group warmth. — connects to: Hayek cast market progress as requiring the abandonment of tribal solidarity and egalitarian loyalties — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market: Human Rights…, 29; Hayek framed social rights demands as atavistic tribal regressions threatening civilization — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market: Human Rights…, 30; Neoliberal market discipline deliberately breaks political subjectivity and weakens solidarity. — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market: Human Rights…, 334
Broader Connections
- Hayek cast market progress as requiring the abandonment of tribal solidarity and egalitarian loyalties
#corroborates(0.95) — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market, 29 - Hayek framed social rights demands as atavistic tribal regressions threatening civilization
#expands(0.90) — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market, 30 - Neoliberal market discipline deliberately breaks political subjectivity and weakens solidarity.
#expands(0.75) — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market, 334