Although he is not considered a voice on economic matters, academic Robert H. Frank believes he has a unique view on market competitiveness.
Charles Darwin (1809-1882) was an English naturalist, to whom is attributed the famous theory of biological evolution in species by the process of natural selection. And although many of us think that his contribution to the world ended in that area, Robert H. Frank He wanted to prove the opposite.
The professor of economics at Cornell University in the United States and author of “The Darwin Economy: Liberty, Competition and the Common Good” made a dislocated comparison: Darwin’s economic vision is more accurate than that of Adam Smithone of the greatest exponents of classical economics and author of the work “The Wealth of Nations” (1776).
Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Economics according to Darwin and its comparison with Adam Smith
The main point that Frank relies on to explain his opinion is the view of the two scientists on competitiveness in the market, as well as the consequences of individualistic and collectivist actions.
On the one hand, Smith proposed the concept of “invisible hand”whose meaning was that when people made decisions based on their self interest positive results would be generated in society. A kind of self-regulation without external interventions.
However, Darwin did not think the same. In that sense, Frank illustrated this problem with an ingenious metaphor. She spoke about the size of deer antlers: “This is a trait that evolved to give a reproductive advantage to individual animals, but whose presence ended up being a disadvantage for a larger group of the same animals“.
This is argued by the fact that, on the one hand, deer fight among themselves to get a female to mate with, so if they have larger antlers, the more likely they are to win the fight. However, although on an individual level the large size of the antlers means a benefit, on a collective level it becomes a problem.
“But now imagine an animal with such an appendage on its head being chased by foxes in a wooded area. It would be very easy for them to surround it and kill it,” explains Frank. So, what is beneficial from the individual becomes harmful from the collective.
Frank explains that “much of the competition between companies and between consumers is against ourselves.” That is why it does not coincide with the view of Smith and his disciples, as well as considering that the individualistic view of economics has generated a lot of damage in recent decades. For him, the solution is through collective responses.
Source: Ambito
