ABSTRACT
Spontaneous order is an order that emerges in an unplanned manner, as a result of the actions of individuals pursuing their separate goals. This chapter presents the idea of spontaneous order in the context of reflections on the nature of social phenomena. In particular, it analyses the strong correlation between the evolution of the idea of unplanned order and the development of economic thought, pointing out the importance of the influence of the Austrian School of Economics. The chapter also analyses the reasons for the study of spontaneous phenomena being mostly confined to economics. It suggests that this is related especially to the significance and prominence of the agency of the individual in economic processes and the unique nature of the institution of money. At the same time, the chapter argues that it is erroneous to associate reflection on the unplanned formation of social structures with economics exclusively. In terms of the theory of spontaneous order, particular areas of social science constitute different forms of reflection on human activity. This makes the spontaneous order theory a fundamental subject of research in all the social sciences, including political science.
