Dan Panaet
Abstract
This paper aims to discuss how the process of cultural evolution can be seen as leading to
the Hayekian idea of individual freedom understood as lack of arbitrary coercion from the part of
others. My contention is that the process of cultural evolution gives rise to an improper form of
freedom that does not make justice to the idea of individuals seen as ends in themselves. I argue
that this happens because the concept of individual freedom is shaped by an essentially
impersonal process and tailored for the needs of a collective mechanism.