Spontaneous Order

The idea of a “spontaneous order”, i.e. an order which emerges as result of the voluntary activities of individuals and not one which is created by a government, is a key idea in the classical liberal and free market tradition. The idea emerged in the medieval period, but it is closely associated with a number of figures who wrote during the 18th century, in particular a group of writers associated with the Scottish Enlightenment - Bernard Mandeville, David Hume, Adam Ferguson, and Adam Smith.