Sunday, January 24, 2010

Capitalism is evolution


I am not arguing the pros and cons of capitalism, only pointing out the parallels between evolution and capitalism.

1) Small genetic changes in an organism can cause a population explosion or extinction of its species. This might be kind of vague when applied to capitalism, but any small changes from a change in CEO or a bad or good decision can cause a company to either go out of business or stamp out the competition.
2) Adaptation or extinction. Companies like organism need to adapt to new environments quickly or face collapse.
3)Survival of the fittest: I don't have to explain much here. It is pretty obvious how this applies to both evolution. For capitalism in its purest form (.i.e no bailouts) a company that allows itself to be caught in on the wrong foot will go out of business or be bought up by a fitter company.
4) The meek will inherit the earth, this is not exactly a part of evolutionary theory but it has happened over and over again. The biggest example is the current dominance of mammal which happened as a result of the extinction of the dinosaurs.

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