Spontaneous order, also named "
self-organization", is the spontaneous emergence of order out of seeming chaos. It is a process found in physical, biological, and social networks including economics, though the term "self-organization" is more often used for physical and biological processes, while "spontaneous order" is typically used to describe the emergence of various kinds of social orders from a combination of self-interested individuals who are not intentionally trying to create order through
planning. The
evolution of life on Earth,
language,
crystal structure, the
Internet and a
free market economy have all been proposed as examples of systems which evolved through spontaneous order.
Naturalists often point to the inherent "watch-like" precision of uncultivated
ecosystems and to the
universe itself as ultimate examples of this phenomenon.