ABSTRACT
This chapter gives a logical assessment of the classical liberal conception of law and order in the human world within an analytical framework defined by the general conditions or causes of conflict or disorder in human interactions. It surveys the main positions on conflict and order in Western thought. Classical liberalism exemplifies one of those positions. The chapter juxtaposes the relevant concepts of order and analyzes their constitutive relations. The analysis highlights the differences, discussed between the classical liberal concept of the "convivial order" or "natural law" of human affairs and the concept of "social order" that is central to all forms of philosophical socialism. "Rational choice" in the convivial order and in political society concludes a short discussion of the application of "rational choice" analysis, in particular the prisoner's dilemma model of interaction, to convivial and social orders. Jasay's bottom line is that rulers and managers are part of the real world of interacting agents.
