Gerard, I fear that emphasis on the spontaneous order and Hayek may 
not provide a sufficient foundation to understand the best Austrian 
thought to be applied. There is one fundamental principle, taken from 
the classical economists, that permeates Mises's HUMAN ACTION. This 
principle underlies the formation of the order that later was, 
probably mistakenly, dubbed spontaneous. It is the principle of the 
higher productivity of the division of labor and specialization. 
Mises called this the Ricardian law of association. In Mises's view, 
it was the recognition of this law by the classical economists and by 
those who followed their ideas that led to the kinds of institutions 
and, in turn, to the kinds of orders that are necessary for what we 
ordinarily call economic development and growth. More fundamentally, 
the trading that results from the recognition of Ricardian law 
generates human cooperation and true society.

Recognition of the law also affects culture:

"Within the frame of social cooperation there can emerge between 
members of society feelings of sympathy and friendship and a sense of 
belonging together. These feelings are the source of man's most 
delightful and most sublime experiences. They are the most precious 
adornment of life; they lift the animal species man to the heights of 
a really human existence. However, they are not, as some have 
asserted, the agents that have brought about social relationships. 
They are fruits of social cooperation, they thrive only within its 
frame; they did not precede the establishment of social relations and 
are not the seed from which they spring."

http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=1893&chapter=110287&layout=html&Itemid=27

Because you and I were lucky enough to be born into a society based 
on the knowledge of the Ricardian law, we have been inclined to 
develop and nurture these feelings of sympathy and friendship.


Mises regarded the Ricardian law as the most important bit of human 
knowledge because this knowledge resulted in cooperation, society, 
the institutions, and the orders that correspond to what we call 
development and growth. But I do not know whether Mises was 
optimistic about the future. For the last paragraph of his book was as follows:

"The body of economic knowledge is an essential element in the 
structure of human civilization; it is the foundation upon which 
modern industrialism and all the moral, intellectual, technological, 
and therapeutical achievements of the last centuries have been built. 
It rests with men whether they will make the proper use of the rich 
treasure with which this knowledge provides them or whether they will 
leave it unused. But if they fail to take the best advantage of it 
and disregard its teachings and warnings, they will not annul 
economics; they will stamp out society and the human race."

http://mises.org/resources/30fdbdd1-6bd3-4c85-a083-bc4fc07219a3


Pat Gunning