Complex Adaptive Systems

Today, evolutionary biologist David Sloan Wilson joins the podcast to discuss his recent paper, co-authored with Dennis Snower: "Rethinking the Theoretical Foundation of Economics."

Neoclassical, or orthodox economic theory is based on physics equations that assume the economic system is always trending towards equilibrium. Their paper suggests replacing physics with Darwin's evolutionary science, which sees the economy as a system always undergoing evolution, driven by the triad of variation, selection, and replication.

David is a distinguished professor of biological science at Binghamton University, co-founder of a number of organizations that work to put evolutionary theory into practice, and even a fiction author of Atlas Hugged, a rejoinder to the selfish individualism of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged that emphasizes the role of cooperation in evolution.

Topics include:

• What replacing the neoclassical "physics of social science" with evolutionary theory brings to the table
• Why an unregulated economy will not spontaneously self-organize into a more cooperative, improved system
• The 'multilevel paradigm' of economics
• Core design principles to manage the cultural evolution of a multilevel economy
• A synthesis of science and spirituality

Enjoy!