ABSTRACT
The notion of the invisible hand is commonly taken to be intertwined with the free market principle which, in turn, underlies the liberal outlook. It is noteworthy that nowadays it is mostly conservative economists (like those mentioned in Mario Sznajder's discussion of Hayek's reception in Chile; see Chapter 4) who cherish the notion of the invisible hand. Among liberal thinkers there seems to be a retreat from policies and practices traditionally justified in terms of the invisible hand. This retreat has to do, inter alia, with the cruel excesses, as described in Stephen Holmes's essay (Chapter 3), of anti-paternalist and non-interventionist policies put into practice in post-communist Russia.
