ABSTRACT
What are the causes of unintended consequences? Conservative political commentators attribute them to overly zealous legislators and policy-makers who act upon what they take to be good intentions and ignore possibly adverse side effects. These politicos’ attitude is supposedly one of “other consequences be damned.” The reality, though, is far more complex. The causes of unintended consequences lie in the nature of the world, in practical freedom, and in the operations and habits of the human psyche.
