The analogies between economic competition and natural selection in free-market thinking

Les analogies entre concurrence économique et sélection naturelle dans les pensées libérales

Philippe Légé ()
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Philippe Légé: IDHES - Institutions et Dynamiques Historiques de l'Économie et de la Société - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - UP8 - Université Paris 8 - UPN - Université Paris Nanterre - UEVE - Université d'Évry-Val-d'Essonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - ENS Paris Saclay - Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay, ISST - Institut des Sciences Sociales du Travail - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne

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Abstract: The purpose of this chapter is to explain how the evolutionary philosophies of Herbert Spencer (1820–1903) and Friedrich A. Hayek (1899–1992) justify economic competition. By studying the analogies between biology and society, as well as Hayek's use of the concept of "selection", we will show that his thinking contains echoes of Spencer's "social Darwinism". This will lead us to question the plight of the losers in the "market order" under Hayekian liberalism.

Keywords: Spencer; Hayek; Selection; Evolutionism; competition; sélection; évolutionnisme; concurrence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Published in Julien Gargani; Annick Jacq. Choisir ou être choisi – Approches critiques de la sélection, MSH Paris-Saclay Éditions, Université Paris-Saclay, pp.77-97, 2025, Actes, 978-2-9597054-1-0. ⟨10.52983/CMJJ8712⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05414504

DOI: 10.52983/CMJJ8712

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