What, If Anything, Does Historical Evidence Corroborate?
Perhaps the most effective argument-stopper against the liberal hypothesis of the emergent order is that “in practice” it does not emerge. What does emerge is, at best, a quite primitive bazaar-type market and small-scale production, supposedly incapable of adopting modern technology and withstanding international competition. (Has anyone heard of the theory of comparative advantage?) What emerges at most is a severely exploitative robber capitalism ruled by the Mafia. It is claimed that only in the unique geography and history of England did capitalism emerge and flourish alongside a benign and minimal state; most historical evidence shows the primacy of the state and the dependence of the “market” on it. It is always hard to be sure what historical evidence does or does not suggest. A good deal of evidence, however, can be cited to corroborate the hypothesis that systems of voluntary exchange arising from property and contract, favored by rules that were for the most part privately e
