Artikel

De geschiedenis van het parlement en de "rule of law": over de geschiedkundige veronderstellingen achter Friedrich A. Hayeks rechtsfilosofie

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Abstract

The history of parliament and the 'rule of law’. On the historical presumptions underlying Friedrich A. Hayek's philosophy of law - A survey of the reasons behind Friedrich A. Hayek’s reluctance to accept an active role for the state in modern society should entail a reconstruction of what might be called a libertarian interpretation of the history of parliament. Such a libertarian historiography exists, but it is hardly referred to in Hayek’s own work. Hayek of course has a firm sociological basis for his doctrine of the 'rule of law’, but the coping stone of the contention that the state very much endangers the specific kind of liberty which is required for progress, is to be found in history. In this article I hope to arouse the reader’s interest in Hayek’s social philosophy by reconstructing the libertarian interpretation of political history which is in a twofold sense a preliminary to this philosophy. First, to suggest that civil society prospered especially when government was weak is to pave the way for Hayek’s economic argument that society is better off with less government Secondly, the historian’s emphasis on the negative experiences with political power prefigures Hayek’s economic explanation why government will always be damaging unless it is reduced to a kind of ’night-watchman-state’. The historical facts about the history of parliament moreover can explain the dual nature of contemporary western political institutions. This is illustrated by the case of the Belgian constitution. I conclude that Hayek’s doctrine of the ’rule of law’ suggests how this duality can be overcome by taking the principle of the separation of legislative and executive power seriously.

How to Cite:

De Vlieghere, M., (1994) “De geschiedenis van het parlement en de "rule of law": over de geschiedkundige veronderstellingen achter Friedrich A. Hayeks rechtsfilosofie”, Tijdschrift voor Sociale Wetenschappen 39(1), 2–25. doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/tvsw.95159