Media Contact:
Catherine Behan
Communications Manager
Mercatus Center at George Mason University
Office: 703-993-4960
Email: cbehan1@gmu.edu
Coordination without Command: Stretching the Scope of Spontaneous Order
July 20, 2007
How far can one stretch the scope of spontaneous order? Gordon Tullock's important work on the economics of non-human societies shows how these societies are able to coordinate without command despite features economists typically see as limiting the scope of spontaneous order. Using Tullock's insights, Peter Leeson searches for the "human ant nest" - spontaneous institutional arrangements that create human cooperation despite the presence of these obstacles. He finds two significant examples of this, both in precolonial Africa. The first demonstrates the effectiveness of spontaneous order in the face of threats of violent theft. The second shows the effectiveness of spontaneous order in the face of social heterogeneity. These cases suggest a broader scope for spontaneous order than conventional wisdom permits.
The ideas presented in this research are the authors' and do not represent official positions of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.
