Then there are things that are out of our control but that happen on their own through a natural process no human being intends or designs. Breathing. The healing of a paper cut. Staying attached to the earth rather than floating off into space. We don’t have to lean into the curve as we go around the sun to keep the earth on orbit. No human being is in charge of making sure the sun comes up tomorrow. When it rains, we may be frustrated if we had hoped to go on a picnic in the park but there is no one to blame. And if it’s an especially beautiful day, we may thank God or simply be glad to be alive. But there is no person we owe thanks to.
There is more at the link.
in other words, reality exists outside our minds
At one point in his essay, Russ says:
> “Political decisions are also emergent. But that is a subject for a different essay.”
I wonder if perhaps the main difference between market decisions and political decisions is that political decisions are generally made by people who won’t be directly affected by those decisions.
i know russ (along with many people in econ) has written/thought about emergent order a lot. my favorite of his efforts is still: http://www.econlib.org/library/Columns/y2005/Robertsmarkets.html