Some Austrian Perspectives

"One of the most overused notions in this about-to-expire century, is the concept of "unintended consequences." In its strongest form, it emerges as the Law of Unintended Consequences, a generalized explanation for a host of public policy failures in American society. A seemingly innocent enough concept, it attempts to explain away why so many ventures into the realm of formulating public policy have gone awry, by asserting that things didn't happen the way policymakers thought and "intended" that they would. (As if this excuses the nonsense that has passed as policy in our time.) In the vernacular, this is nothing but a "cop-out," a deus ex machina that disguises the true source of failed public policy-a refusal to appreciate the full implications and ramifications of public policy initiatives for human action."