Towards an intellectual history of evolutionary economics: competition and struggle versus cooperation and mutual aid

Vol. 37 No. 3 (2017)

Jul-Sep / 2017
Published February 26, 2020
PDF-English
PDF-English

How to Cite

Hall, John, and Svetlana Kirdina-Chandler. 2017. “Towards an Intellectual History of Evolutionary Economics: Competition and Struggle Versus Cooperation and Mutual Aid”. Brazilian Journal of Political Economy 37 (3):551-64. https://doi.org/10.1590/0101-31572017v37n03a05.

Towards an intellectual history of evolutionary economics: competition and struggle versus cooperation and mutual aid

John Hall
Professor of Economics and International Studies; Portland State University; Oregon, USA .
Svetlana Kirdina-Chandler
Head of the Sub-Division for the Evolution of Social and Economic Systems; Institute of Economics; Russian Academy of Sciences; Moscow, Russia.
Brazilian Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 37 No. 3 (2017), Jul-Sep / 2017, Pages 551-564

Abstract

Our inquiry considers the origins of Evolutionary Economics by reintroducing a debate that took place in Russia in the 19th and early 20th century. Responses to Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species are considered, especially critiques stressing Darwin’s emphasis upon competition and struggle in natural ion, that can be traced directly to Thomas Robert Malthus. Considering challenging contributions made by several Russian scholars, we place special emphasis upon Peter Kropotkin’s focus on cooperation and “mutual aid” in natural ion and evolution. We then speculate upon the commonality found in the evolutionary views advanced by Kropotkin and his American contemporary, Thorstein Veblen. 

JEL Classification: B1; B2; B3.


Keywords: Charles Darwin evolutionary economics mutual aid Peter Kropotkin Thomas Robert Malthus Thorstein Veblen.