One of the fundamental tenets of a free market outlook is that many individual human beings, each pursuing their own selfish interests, will interact to the benefit of society as a whole.
Adam Smith was the first to espouse this concept, later dubbed spontaneous order. He proposed that the actions of men are guided by an invisible hand that somehow directs people towards a desirable outcome for all.
Economists analyze human action in a variety of ways to try to understand why a spontaneous order even exists. Some, like F.A. Hayek, argued that the the source of spontaneous order could not be fully understood by men. Others argue that it is no order at all, and instead propose various schemes and plans that will bring about a proper order to society.
Hayek described this attitude as fatal conceit, that a few men could plan society. Replacing the spontaneous order that erupts from free interaction among individuals with a cobbled-together, totatalitarian order does not only kill freedom. It kills growth, innovation, and genuine, natural society itself.
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