Why hayek is a Darwinian (after all)? Hayek and Darwin on social evolution

Alain Marciano (1)

1 URCA UFR SESG - URCA - UFR des Sciences économiques, sociales et de gestion

This article proposes to reassess Hayek's theory of cultural evolution in the light of Darwin's Descent of Man. It is shown that Hayek and Darwin refers to the same theory of human nature, which is borrowed from the founding fathers of political economy, Hume and Smith. Their respective conceptions of order, as well as the mechanisms and the product of evolution, are then the consequence of this theory of human nature.

Mots clés: A 11; B 52; Cultural evolution; Biological evolution; Darwin; Descent of man; Hayek

Domaines: Économie et finance quantitative [q-fin]

Alain Marciano. Why hayek is a Darwinian (after all)? Hayek and Darwin on social evolution. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 2009, 71 (1), pp.52. ⟨10.1016/j.jebo.2007.04.005⟩. ⟨hal-00704680⟩