The state should confine itself to establishing rules applying to general types of situations. [fact]
The state should confine itself to establishing rules applying to general types of situations, and should allow the individuals freedom in everything which depends on the circumstances of time and place, because only the individuals concerned in each instance can fully know these circumstances and adapt their actions to them. If the individuals are to be able to use their knowledge effectively in making plans, they must be able to predict actions of the state which may affect these plans.
Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, loc. 385