Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/31799 
Authors: 
Year of Publication: 
2005
Series/Report no.: 
Papers on Economics and Evolution No. 0521
Publisher: 
Max Planck Institute of Economics, Jena
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.
Subjects: 
Darwin
social evolution
evolutionary economics
bioeconomics
JEL: 
A11
B52
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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