catallaxy

/ˈkætəˌlæksi/

Etymology

From Ancient Greek καταλλάσσω (katallássō, “to exchange”). Popularized by economist Friedrich Hayek.

Why this word is great

CATALLAXY — [Noun] A society's dynamic order emerging from countless voluntary exchanges rather than centralized design. From Ancient Greek καταλλάσσω (katallássō, "to exchange, reconcile"), popularized by economist Friedrich Hayek. Unlike "economy" (a neutral descriptor of systems) or "democracy" (a ritual of collective choice), catallaxy is the unorchestrated symphony of strangers cooperating without command. It is the farmer selling wheat to the baker, who feeds the cobbler, who repairs the farmer's boots; it is the price of a lemon adjusting to frost in Florida and a drought in Spain; it is the quiet miracle of a city humming with life though no one planned it—proof that order can arise, beautifully, from freedom.

noun

A high-interaction society of collective decision making.“Catallaxy is distinguished from conventional political science by its focus on the science of complex exchanges. Whereas catallaxy views politics and the political process in terms of the voluntary exchange paradigm, the focus of political science is on the nonvoluntary relationships among individuals involving power and/or coercion.”