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Hayek’s theory of evolutionary rationality shows how traditions and customs (those surrounding sexual relations, for example) might be reasonable solutions to complex social problems, even when, and especially when, no clear rational grounds can be provided to the individual for obeying them. These customs have been selected by the ‘‘invisible hand’’ of social reproduction, and societies that reject them will soon enter the condition of ‘‘maladaptation,’’ which is the normal prelude to extinction.

— Roger Scruton

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More quotes by Roger Scruton

In argument about moral problems, relativism is the first refuge of the scoundrel.

Modern Philosophy (1995)

When truth cannot make itself known in words, it will make itself known in deeds.

The core of common culture is religion. Tribes survive and flourish because they have gods, who fuse many wills into a single will, and demand and reward the sacrifices on which social life depends.

Modern Culture (2000)

The future of mankind, for the socialist, is simple: pull down the existing order and allow the future to emerge.

A Political Philosophy (2006)

Conservatism is itself a modernism, and in this lies the secret of its success.

A Political Philosophy (2006)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Roger Scruton (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.