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Economists on Darwin's theory of social evolution and human behaviour

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Author Info
A. Marciano

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Abstract

The purpose of this article is to analyse the way economists interested in social and economic evolution cite, mention or refer to Darwin. We focus on the attitude of economists towards Darwin's theory of social evolution – an issue he considered as central to his theory. We show that economists refer to and mention Darwin as a biologist and neglect or ignore his theory of social and cultural evolution. Three types of reference are identified: first, economists view and quote Darwin as having borrowed concepts from classical political economists, Malthus and Smith. Darwin is then mentioned to emphasize the existence of economic theories of social evolution. Second, economists refer to and cite Darwin from the perspective of the use of biological concepts in social sciences. Darwin's biological theories are then equated with those of Spencer. From these two perspectives, Darwin's theory of social evolution is ignored and Darwin considered as a biologist exclusively. Third, economists acknowledge the existence of Darwin's general (biological and social) theory of evolution. Darwin is then considered and quoted as a biologist and a social evolutionist.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Max Planck Institute of Economics, Evolutionary Economics Group in its series Papers on Economics and Evolution with number 2005-21.

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Length: 26 pages
Date of creation: Jan 2006
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:esi:evopap:2005-21

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Related research
Keywords: Darwin; social evolution; evolutionary economics; bioeconomics;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
A11 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Role of Economics; Role of Economists
B52 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Institutional; Evolutionary

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Hirshleifer, Jack, 1985. "The Expanding Domain of Economics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 75(6), pages 53-68, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Armen A. Alchian, 1950. "Uncertainty, Evolution, and Economic Theory," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 58, pages 211. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Jack Hirshleifer, 1977. "Economics from a Biological Viewpoint," UCLA Economics Working Papers 087, UCLA Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  4. Tullock, Gordon, 1977. "Economics and Sociobiology: A Comment," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 15(2), pages 502-06, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. repec:cup:jhisec:v:22:y:2000:i:02:p:239-249_00 is not listed on IDEAS
  6. Alain Marciano, Maud Pelissier, 2000. "The Influence Of Scottish Enlightenment On Darwin’S Theory Of Cultural Evolution," Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 22(2), pages 239-249, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Hirshleifer, Jack, 1977. "Economics from a Biological Viewpoint," Journal of Law & Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 20(1), pages 1-52, April.
  8. Caldwell, Bruce, 2001. "Hodgson on Hayek: A Critique," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 25(4), pages 539-53, July.
  9. Coase, Ronald, 1998. "The New Institutional Economics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(2), pages 72-74, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Philippe Fontaine, 2000. "Making use of the past: theorists and historians on the economics of altruism," European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 7(3), pages 407-422, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Caldwell, Bruce, 2000. " The Emergence of Hayek's Ideas on Cultural Evolution," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 5-22, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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This page was last updated on 2009-11-30.

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