Editing Evolutionary economics (section)

==Roots of evolutionary economics==

===Early ideas===

[[File:Goldenes-Zeitalter-1530-2.jpg|thumb|right|From peace and harmony... ([[Lucas Cranach the Elder]], ''The Golden Age'', 1530)]]

[[File:Virgil_Solis_-_Iron_Age.jpg|thumb|right|... to war and sorrow ([[Virgil Solis]], ''The Iron Age'', 1581)]]

The idea of human society and the world in general as subject to evolution has been following mankind throughout its existence. [[Hesiod]], an [[ancient Greece|ancient Greek]] poet thought to be the first [[Western world|Western]] written poet regarding himself as an individual,<ref name="BarronEasteling1989">[[John Barron (classicist)|Barron, J. P.]], [[Patricia Easterling|Easterling, P. E.]] (1989). ''Hesiod''. In [[Patricia Easterling|Easterling, P. E.]], Knox, B. (eds.), The Cambridge History of Classical Literature: Greek Literature. Cambridge University Press, p. 51.</ref> described five [[Ages of Man]] &ndash; the [[Golden Age]], the [[Silver Age]], the [[Bronze Age (disambiguation)|Bronze Age]], the [[Greek Heroic Age|Heroic Age]], and the [[Ages of Man#Hesiod's Five Ages|Iron Age]] &ndash; following from divine existence to toil and misery. Modern scholars consider his works as one of the sources for early economic thought.<ref name="Gordon1975">Gordon, B. J. (1975). ''Economic Analysis Before Adam Smith: Hesiod to Lessius''. Palgrave Macmillan, p. 3.</ref><ref>[[Murray Rothbard|Rothbard, M. N.]] (1995). ''Economic Thought Before Adam Smith: Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought, Vol. 1''. Cheltenham, UK.</ref><ref name="Brockway2001">Brockway, G. P. (2001) ''The End of Economic Man: An Introduction to Humanistic Economics, 4th edition''. W. W. Norton & Company, p. 128.</ref> The concept is also present in the ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' by [[Ovid]], an [[ancient Roman]] poet. His [[Ages of Man#Ovid's Four Ages|Four Ages]] include technological progress: in the Golden Age, men did not know arts and craft, whereas by the Iron Age people had learnt and discovered [[agriculture]], [[architecture]], [[mining]], [[navigation]], and [[national boundaries]], but had also become violent and greedy. This concept was not exclusive to the Greek and Roman civilizations (see, for instance, [[Yuga Cycle|Yuga Cycles]] in [[Hinduism]], the [[Three Ages of Buddhism]], [[Aztec|Aztecs’]] [[Five Suns]]), but a common feature is the path towards misery and destruction, with technological advancements accompanied by moral degradation.

===Medieval and early modern times===

[[Medieval]] views on society, economics and politics (at least in [[Europe]] and ''[[Pax Islamica]]'') were influenced by [[religious]] norms and traditions. [[Catholic]] and [[Islamic]] scholars debated on the moral appropriateness of certain economic practices, such as [[interest]].<ref name="ThomasAquinas">[[Thomas Aquinas]]. ''[[Summa Theologica]]''. New York: English Dominican Fathers, 1981. Part II, Q78, A1. [https://web.archive.org/web/20230329092403/https://www.newadvent.org/summa/2078.html Archived] from [https://www.newadvent.org/summa/2078.html] on March 29, 2023.</ref><ref name="Riba">Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance (2023). ''Riba''. [https://web.archive.org/web/20230604181703/https://www.islamic-banking.com/explore/glossary/glossary-financial-terms-r Archived] from [https://www.islamic-banking.com/explore/glossary/glossary-financial-terms-r] on June 4, 2023.</ref> The subject of changes was thought of in existential terms. For instance, [[Augustine of Hippo]] regarded [[time]] as a phenomenon of the universe created by [[God]] and a measure of change, whereas God exists outside of time.<ref name="Augustine">[[Augustine of Hippo]]. ''[[Confessions (Augustine)|Confessions]]'', Book XI. [[Project Gutenberg]]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20230419025656/https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3296/3296-h/3296-h.html Archived] from [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3296/3296-h/3296-h.html] on April 19, 2023.</ref>

A major contribution to the views on the evolution of society was ''[[Leviathan (Hobbes book)|Leviathan]]'' by [[Thomas Hobbes]]. A human, according to Hobbes, is a matter in motion with one's own appetites and desires. Due to these numerous desires and the [[scarcity]] of resources, the [[State of nature|natural state of a human]] is a [[war of all against all]]:<ref name="HobbesLeviathan">[[Thomas Hobbes]], ''[[Leviathan (Hobbes book)|Leviathan]]'', Chapter XIII. [[Project Gutenberg]]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20230103021206/https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/3207/pg3207-images.html Archived] from [https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/3207/pg3207-images.html] on January 3, 2023.</ref>

<blockquote>"In such condition, there is no place for [[industry (manufacturing)|Industry]]; because the fruit thereof is uncertain; and consequently no Culture of the Earth; no Navigation, nor use of the [[commodities]] that may be imported by Sea; no commodious Building; no Instruments of moving, and removing such things as require much force; no Knowledge of the face of the Earth; no account of Time; no Arts; no Letters; no Society; and which is worst of all, continual feare, and danger of violent death; And the life of man, solitary, poore, nasty, brutish, and short."</blockquote>

In order to overcome this natural [[anarchy]], Hobbs saw it necessary to impose an ultimate restraint in the form of a [[sovereign]]. 

===Economic development, natural state, and social evolution===

{{See also|The Wealth of Nations}}

[[File:Adam_Smith_The_Muir_portrait.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Adam Smith]] (1723–1790)]]

A landmark work in many senses, ''[[The Wealth of Nations]]'' by [[Adam Smith]] was also one to offer a description of economic development throughout the history of mankind — as well as insights into the nature of this development. In ''Book III (Of the different Progress of Opulence in different Nations)'', Smith constantly underlines the importance of the natural order of things, which economic improvements follow, and shows the feedback chain that allows economies to progress further, based on what has been achieved. This falls in line with the notion of [[natural rights]] shared by other [[Age of Enlightenment]] thinkers, such as [[John Locke]] and [[Montesquieu]].

A somewhat different view relates to the names of prominent [[socialists]] of the 19th century, who viewed economic and political systems as products of [[sociocultural evolution|social evolution]] (in contrast to the notions of [[natural rights]] and [[morality]]). In his book ''[[What is Property?]]'', [[Pierre-Joseph Proudhon]] noted:<ref name="Proudhon">[[Proudhon|Proudhon, Pierre-Joseph]] (1994). ''[[What is Property?]]'' [[Project Gutenberg]]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20230405101726/https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/360/pg360-images.html Archived] from [https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/360/pg360-images.html] on April 5, 2023.</ref>

<blockquote>“Thus, in a given society, the authority of man over man is inversely proportional to the stage of intellectual development which that society has reached.”</blockquote>

The approach was also employed by [[Karl Marx]]. In his view, over the course of history superior economic systems would replace inferior ones. Inferior systems were beset by internal contradictions and inefficiencies that made them impossible to survive in the long term. In Marx's scheme, [[feudalism]] was replaced by [[capitalism]], which would eventually be superseded by socialism.<ref name="GregoryStuart2005">[[Paul Roderick Gregory|Gregory, P. R.]], Stuart, R. C. (2005). ''Comparing Economic Systems in the Twenty-First Century, Seventh Edition''. South-Western College Publishing.</ref>