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Economic selection and the role of government: Some lessons from evolutionary biology

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Forum for Social Economics

Conclusion

The economic system is not divinely ordained. It is the product of human beings and can therefore be questioned and altered if necessary. The Reagan and Bush administrations elevated the status of those extreme right economists who wish to preserve privilege by claiming the divine right of market outcomes. It is the argument of this paper that this divine right has its roots in a Victorian view of natural selection. It is instructive to recognize that this view no longer holds sway in biology. It is even less true in the economic sphere.

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Authors
  1. John M. Gowdy
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Gowdy, J.M. Economic selection and the role of government: Some lessons from evolutionary biology. FSSE 22, 61–70 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02826157

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