“[T]he law ought always to trust people with the care of their own interest, as in their local situations they must generally be able to judge better of it than the legislature can do.”
-Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, Book IV, Ch. 5.
This sentence must have had a tremendous influence on Hayek’s thought.
Inertia Wins! 
I think the issue is morality, not competence in determining who should
“…(take) care of their own interest…”.