Should economic policy be guided by rules? In this paper, we take the perspective of the Freiburg School and trace its argument for rule-based Ordnungspolitik back to the roots of the concept. In doing so, will not offer a comprehensive review of the literature, but argue closely along the works of Walter Eucken, whose contributions are central to understanding the founding generation of the Freiburg School. We argue that not having rules is costly and therefore that the main thrust of the Freiburg approach remains valid. Good empirical arguments can be found for pursuing a rule-based Ordnungspolitik in order to avoid the costs of discretionary policymaking. Furthermore, we argue that reliance on stable rules does not incapacitate democratic decision-making. Rules rely on democratic support, and rule-based Ordnungspolitik also leaves substantial material scope for discretionary democratic decision-making.

经济政策是否应该以规则为指导？在本文中，我们从弗莱堡学派的角度出发，将其对基于规则的秩序政治的论证追溯到该概念的根源。在这样做时，不会提供对文献的全面审查，而是围绕沃尔特·尤肯的作品进行密切讨论，他的贡献对于理解弗莱堡学派的创始一代至关重要。我们认为没有规则的代价是昂贵的，因此弗莱堡方法的主旨仍然有效。可以找到良好的经验论据来追求基于规则的秩序政治以避免随意决策的成本。此外，我们认为对稳定规则的依赖并不会使民主决策丧失能力。规则依赖于民主支持，基于规则的秩序政治也为自由裁量的民主决策留下了实质性的物质空间。