The Darwin Economy

Stasis

The past several decades have seen a decline in Americans’ standard of living. Societal crises exist throughout the United States: wage stagnation, a widening disparity between rich and poor, crumbling infrastructure, a potentially fatal denial of climate change, and a refusal to spend in order to relieve unemployment and revive the economy. Yet political gridlock – accompanied by a persistent yet erroneous belief that government is the cause of all problems – halts any action or solution. This inertia is rooted in a basic failure to grasp the true nature of competition.

Libertarians, who object to all regulations, fail to realize that individual and collective interests don’t always mesh. An entirely unshackled market can’t be equally prosperous and beneficial for everyone. Some shackles are good, but government can prevent harm more effectively through taxation than through regulation.

Smith’s Discovery and Darwin’s Insight

Influential 18th-century philosopher Adam Smith posited that businesspeople’s self-interest benefited society through the agency of an “invisible hand.” Smith, however, did not believe that this self-interest always led to...