Who was the greater economist--Adam
Smith or Charles Darwin?
The question seems absurd. Darwin,
after all, was a naturalist, not an economist.
But Robert Frank, New York Times economics
columnist and best-selling author of The Economic Naturalist, predicts that within the
next century Darwin will unseat Smith as the intellectual founder of economics. The
reason, Frank argues, is that Darwin's understanding of competition describes economic
reality far more accurately than Smith's. And the consequences of this fact are profound.
Indeed, the failure to recognize that we live in Darwin's world rather than Smith's is
putting us all at risk by preventing us from seeing that competition alone will not solve
our problems.
Smith's theory of the invisible hand, which says
that competition channels self-interest for the common good, is probably the most widely
cited argument today in favor of unbridled competition--and against regulation, taxation,
and even government itself. But what if Smith's idea was almost an exception to the
general rule of competition? That's what Frank argues, resting his case on Darwin's
insight that individual and group interests often diverge sharply. Far from creating a
perfect world, economic competition often leads to "arms races," encouraging
behaviors that not only cause enormous harm to the group but also provide no lasting
advantages for individuals, since any gains tend to be relative and mutually offsetting.
The good news is that we have the ability to tame
the Darwin economy. The best solution is not to prohibit harmful behaviors but to tax
them. By doing so, we could make the economic pie larger, eliminate government debt, and
provide better public services, all without requiring painful sacrifices from anyone.
That's a bold claim, Frank concedes, but it follows directly from logic and evidence that
most people already accept.
Robert H. Frank is an economics professor at Cornell's Johnson
Graduate School of Management and a regular "Economic View" columnist for the
"New York Times", and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Demos. His books, which
have been translated into 22 languages, include "The Winner-Take-All Society"
(with Philip Cook), "The Economic Naturalist", "Luxury Fever",
"What Price the Moral High Ground?", and "Principles of Economics"
(with Ben Bernanke).
Table of Contents
Preface ix
Chapter 1: Paralysis 1
Chapter 2: Darwin's Wedge 16
Chapter 3: No Cash on the Table 30
Chapter 4: Starve the Beast' But Which One? 46
Chapter 5: Putting the Positional Consumption Beast on a Diet 64
Chapter 6: Perpetrators and Victims 84
Chapter 7: Efficiency Rules 100
Chapter 8: "It's Your Money . . ." 119
Chapter 9: Success and Luck 140
Chapter 10: The Great Trade- Off? 157
Chapter 11: Taxing Harmful Activities 172
Chapter 12: The Libertarian's Objections Reconsidered 194
Notes 217
Index 229
256 pages, Hardcover