The dissertation concerns F. A. Hayek’s (1899–1992) critique of legislation. The purpose of the investigation is to clarify and assess that critique. I argue that there is in Hayek’s work a critique of legislation that is distinct from his well-known critique of social planning. Further that the main claim of this critique is what I refer to as Hayek’s legislation tenet, namely that legislation that aims to achieve specific aggregate results in complex orders of society will decrease the welfare level.           The legislation tenet gains support; (i) from the welfare claim – according to which there is a positive correlation between the utilization of knowledge and the welfare level in society; (ii) from the dispersal of knowledge thesis – according to which the total knowledge of society is dispersed and not available to any one agency; and (iii) from the cultural evolution thesis – according to which evolutionary rules are more favorable to the utilization of knowledge in social cooperation than are legislative rules. More specifically, I argue that these form two lines of argument in support of the legislation tenet. One line of argument is based on the conjunction of the welfare claim and the dispersal of knowledge thesis. I argue that this line of argument is true. The other line of argument is based on the conjunction of the welfare claim and the cultural evolution thesis. I argue that this line of argument is false, mainly because the empirical work of political scientist Elinor Ostrom refutes it. Because the two lines of argument support the legislation tenet independently of each other, I argue that Hayek’s critique of legislation is true. In this dissertation, I further develop a legislative policy tool as based on the welfare claim and Hayek’s conception of coercion. I also consider Hayek’s idea that rules and law are instrumental in forging rational individual action and rational social orders, and turn to review this idea in light of the work of experimental economist Vernon Smith and economic historian Avner Greif. I find that Smith and Greif support this idea of Hayek’s, and I conjecture that it contributes to our understanding of Adam Smith’s notion of the invisible hand: It is rules – not an invisible hand – that prompt subjects to align individual and aggregate rationality in social interaction. Finally, I argue that Hayek’s critique is essentially utilitarian, as it is concerned with the negative welfare consequences of certain forms of legislation. And although it may appear that the dispersal of knowledge thesis will undermine the possibility of carrying out the utilitarian calculus, due to the lack of knowledge of the consequences of one’s actions – and therefore undermine the legislation tenet itself – I argue that the distinction between utilitarianism conceived as a method of deliberation and utilitarianism conceived as a criterion of correctness may be used to save Hayek’s critique from this objection.

Partant de l’idée que des filiales d’une entreprise sont en mesure de remettre en cause les décisions de la direction générale (maison-mère), l’approche holistique développée dans ce travail part du principe qu’une organisation peut être un « être », laissant entendre ainsi que les informations dont elle dispose seraient extérieures aux individus qui la composent. Ce qui conduit à s'interroger s’il est concevable d’ignorer l’individu dans une telle relation de domination. Cette thèse propose justement un modèle autour de résultats qui montrent la difficile exclusion de l’individu dans un contexte méta-organisationnel (dans lequel les membres seraient des organisations et non des individus). Dans cette veine, ce sont les dynamiques humaines de l’organisation qui sont au cœur de ce travail : il existe par et au travers de l’individu une dynamique issue de l’activité réelle qui permet de faire vivre l’organisation par elle-même, mais également qui permet au prescrit de cette dernière d’évoluer. Bien que les résultats obtenus montrent que l’organisation n’est pas un objet mort et sans force et qu’elle a bien la possibilité de vivre par elle-même, ce sont les individus qui — par leurs engagements conditionnels — permettent cette existence propre de l’organisation comme structure intra-consciente qui impose des droits et des obligations. Dans cette perspective, le modèle proposé vise à dessiner les structures de la réalité sociale abstraite (dénommé dans la recherche menée, l’Entité X) en montrant les forces et les contraintes organisationnelles qui pèsent sur les individus-membres, tout en relevant les capacités humaines à sortir des structures prescrites par la co-construction de liens et de structures transversales de coopérations issus de l’activité réelle. / Based on the idea that the subsidiaries of a company are able to call into question the decisions of senior management (the parent company), the holistic approach developed in this study assumes that an organization can be a “being”, implying thereby that the information in its possession is external to the individuals who compose it. This raises the question of whether it is conceivable to ignore the individual in such a relationship of domination. This thesis proposes a model based on the results which show the difficult exclusion of the individual in a meta-organizational context (in which members would be organizations and not individuals). Along these same lines, the organization’s human dynamics are at the heart of this research: there exists by and through the individual a dynamic resulting from actual activity that allows the organization to live by itself, while also allowing prescribe to evolve. Although the results show that the organization is not a dead and strengthless object, and it has the opportunity to live by itself, it is the individuals who —through their conditional commitments— allow the separate existence of an organizational structure’s intra-consciousness, which imposes rights and obligations. In this perspective, the proposed model aims to draw the structures of abstract social reality (referred as Entity X in this study) by showing the strengths and organizational constraints that weigh on individual members, while raising the human capacity to emerge from the structures prescribed by the sensemaking of links and transversal structures for cooperation that originate from the actual activity.

Hazing is an ancient, universal practice. In past and modern societies, the need to join a group is an aspect of our humanity. The process of joining a group frequently includes the need to be hazed in order to legitimate full membership. This study uses the theoretical frameworks of Michel Foucault, Pierre Bourdieu’s perspectives of social order, Henri Tajfel and John Turner’s theory of social identity, and Albert Bandura’s theory of moral disengagement to look at individuals joining groups. In particular, the study has sought to ascertain why those who haze are motivated to act. A grounded theory has been developed through interviewing young adults, who while in positions of leadership as Grade 12 learners in Gauteng schools, planned hazing activities. The grounded theory shows that hazing while enacted by an individual is not solely driven by that person, but rather hazing is a means of cultural reproduction. The mechanism through which hazing occurs focuses on achieving a sense of belonging, conforming to a given culture and consenting to hazing. The hazer is motivated to pass on aspects of the school’s culture, namely school traditions, hierarchical structures, means and standards of discipline, and showing appropriate respect to others. The hazer believes that this can be achieved as those being hazed will comply if they can avoid being humiliated. The developed theory is grounded and was verified through interviewing stakeholders in the school community who had extensive knowledge of the school culture and of Grade 12 learners. / Ukufikisa kungumkhuba wasemandulo, owenziwa emhlabeni wonke. Emiphakathini yasendulo neyenamuhla, isidingo sokuhlanganyela neqembu elithile yinto eyingxenye yobuntu bethu. Inqubo yokuhlanganyela neqembu elithile kuvame ukufaka kukona isidingo sokufikiswa ukuze umuntu abe yilungu ngokuphelele. Lolu cwaningo lusebenzisa izinhlaka zemiqondo yezinzululwazi ezingoMichel Foucault noPeter Bourdieu wokuhleleka kwezenhlalakahle, umbono kaHenri Tajfel noJohn Turner wokuzibandakanya kwabantu kwezenhlalo kanye nombono ka-Albert Bandura wokuziphatha ngendlela engahambisani nemigomo yokulunga ukuze kubukwe abantu abajoyina amaqembu. Ngokusempeleni, ucwaningo lufuna ukubheka ukuthi labo abafikisayo bakhuthazwa yini. Umqondo wenzululwazi wakhiwa ngokuba kubuzwe intsha esencane imibuzo, intsha eyayihlela izinhlelo zokufikisa eyayisezikhundleni zokuhola abafundi ngenkathi yenza iBanga 12 ezikoleni zaseGauteng. Umbono wenzululwazi ozinzile uveza ukuthi ukufikiswa, yize kwenziwa umuntu oyedwa kusuke kungaholwa yilowo muntu kuphela, kodwa ukufikiswa kuyindlela yokukhiqiza kabusha ngokwesiko. Indlela okwenziwa ngayo lokhu kufikisa igxile ekufezeni umuzwa wokuba yingxenye yabathize, ukuguqukela osikweni nasekuvumeleni ukufikiswa. Lowo okunguye ofikisayo usuke efuna ukudlulisela phambili izingxenye zamasiko esikole, njengemikhuba, ukwakheka ngokushiyana kwamazinga, izindlela nemigomo yokuziphatha kahle, kanye nokubonisa inhlonipho kwabanye. Lowo okunguye ofikisayo ukholelwa ekutheni lokhu kungafezwa njengoba labo abafikiswayo bezokwenza lokho okuthiwa abakwenze inqobo nje uma bezogwema ukuhlukunyezwa. Umqondo wenzululwazi osunguliwe uzinzile futhi waqinisekiswa ngokufaka ababambiqhaza imibuzo emiphakathini yezikole eyayinolwazi olunzulu maqondana nesiko lesikole kanye nabafundi beBanga 12. / Thupiso ke mokgwa wa kgale, wa lefase ka bophara. Ditshabeng tsa kgale le tsa mehleng ye, tlhoko ya go tsenela sehlopha ke karolo ya botho bja rena. Tshepetso ya go tsenela sehlopha gantsi e akaretsa tlhoko ya thupiso go kgonthisisa boleloko bjo bo feletsego. Nyakisiso ye e somisa mahlamo a teori a Foucault, dipono tsa Pierre Bourdieu tsa thulaganyo ya setshaba, teori ya Henri Tajfel le John Turner ya boitshupo bja setshaba, le teori ya Albert Bandura ya tlogelo ya melawana ya boitshwaro go lekola batho ba ba tsenelago dihlopha. Ka kakaretso, nyakisiso ye e lekile go kgonthisisa gore gobaneng bao ba rupiswago ba hlohleletswa go tsea magato. Teori ya kgoboketso le tshekatsheko e tsweleditswe ka go botsisa baswa dipotsiso bao, ge ba sa le maemong a boetapele bjalo ka barutwana ba Mphato wa 12 dikolong tsa Gauteng, ba rulagantsego ditiro tsa go sira. Teori ya kgoboketso le tshekatsheko e laetsa gore thupiso bjale ka ge e diragatswa ke motho ga e susumetswe ke motho yoo a le nosi, eupsa thupiso ke mokgwa wa pusoloso ya setso. Mokgwa wo thupiso e diregago ka wona o tsepeletse go fihlelela boikwelo bja go amogelega, go latela setso se se filwego le go dumelelana le thupiso. Morupisi o hlohleletswa go fetisetsa dikarolo tsa setso tsa sekolo, e lego ditso tsa sekolo, dibopego tsa haerakhi, mekgwa le maemo a tayo, le go laetsa tlhompho ya maleba go ba bangwe. Morupisi o dumela gore se se ka fihlelelwa bjalo ka ge bao ba rupiswago ba obamela ge ba ka thibela go goboswa. Teori ye e hlabolotswego e kgobokeditswe le go sekasekwa gomme e ile ya tiiswa ka go ka botsisa bakgathatema dipotsiso sekolong sa setshaba bao ba nago le tsebo ye e tseneletsego ya setso sa sekolo le ya barutwana ba Mphato wa 12. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Comparative Education)