Hayek, egalitarianism, and evolutionary game theory

Miłosz Ślepowroński

Chapter 13 in Hayek’s Living Legacy in Economics, Philosophy and Policy, 2026, pp 219-246 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: The chapter explores Hayekian insights about the need to maintain two systems of rules in our lives: that of microcosm and macrocosm, and examines them in the light of evolutionary game theory and theories of egalitarianism that were proposed using that tool. Hayek famously proposed in The Fatal Conceit (1988) that humans need to simultaneously live in two types of order: microcosm, which means families or small groups; and macrocosm, which refers to the extended order of markets and the entire civilization. Each of them has separate rules, and applying them to the wrong order would be destructive. The chapter exhibits such an error in the case of an evolutionary game theory by Ken Binmore, who, although sharing concerns with Hayek, has fallen exactly into applying the rules of the microcosm to the macrocosm of civilization.

Keywords: Egalitarianism; Game Theory; Social Order; Coordination; Cooperation; Market Integration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035394234
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