Future Orthopia: A Conceptual Design for a Liberal and Robust Market Order in the 21st Century

Abstract

This paper introduces the concept of a future orthopia, a realistic vision for an economic order that preserves the radical promise of the Austrian School while acknowledging the messy realities of today’s platform-driven, highly networked markets. At its core lies the belief that spontaneous order and decentralised knowledge, as Hayek and Mises once envisioned, still hold untapped potential for economic freedom and entrepreneurial discovery. Yet the realities of platform capitalism show how quickly data monopolies and gatekeeper structures can undermine this freedom. Using a qualitative and conceptual approach, this paper brings together classical Austrian theory, complexity economics, and modern governance research. The radical reforms under Javier Milei serve as a real-world test case, a dramatic experiment in how far deregulation, fiscal austerity, and institutional rollback can push an economy toward Austrian ideals and at what social cost. The findings suggest that spontaneous order alone is not enough when network effects, algorithmic control, and market power concentrate freedom in the hands of a few. A Future orthopia, therefore, calls for an adaptive, rule-based framework that preserves openness, safeguards diversity, and limits new forms of hidden centralisation. This is not about a return to static planning but about protecting the spaces where entrepreneurial action can flourish without being fenced off by invisible gatekeepers. The paper offers a blueprint for those who believe that freedom and fairness must be defended together and that markets, if left unchecked, can be both liberating and deeply fragile. In the end, the freedom of the market remains what it has always been: the freedom of people to think, to act, and to shape their future