The Pretence of Knowledge (HT: Hayek, Roberts, Mailonline)

Hayek and others have long argued that central planners lack the ability to control markets simply because the information required to do so is dispersed, temporary, resource intensive to acquire, and more than one (or a group of) mind(s) can process.

That doesn't stop governments trying to do it.....

The following is Russ Roberts of Cafe Haek perspective on the US Army's 'knowledge' map of the Afghanistan conflict. In Australian language this could be Federal-State health reform, CPRS, the Building Education Revolution, Insulation Scheme, or a hundred other government planning schemes.

The impossibility of centrally controlling markets (or society) is why we should stop trying to control them.

Enjoy.

This is supposedly from a powerpoint presentation (HT: Drudge) to US Army Generals to help them make sense of Afghanistan. But relabel it and it could be anything. It could be our health care system after ObamaCare is put in place. Or our current health care system with all its distortions. Or the connections between people making a pencil. In the latter case, it works even though we don’t understand it. In the other examples, it’s a mess because someone is actually arrogant enough to think he can actually control such a complex process and set of relationships.