Thorstein Veblen's Darwinian framework and gene-culture coevolution theory
Citation
Koloğlugil, S. (2016). Thorstein veblen's darwinian framework and gene-culture coevolution theory. The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, 23(4), 641-672. doi:10.1080/09672567.2015.1018292Abstract
At the turn of the previous century, Thorstein Veblen used Darwinian evolutionary principles to explain the macro-historical evolution of human societies, as well as the institutional structure of the modern pecuniary culture. Even if Veblen had a strong intuitive grasp of the evolutionary forces operating in society, he was not always clear and explicit in developing his ideas towards a full-fledged, consistent evolutionary social theory. This paper argues that a relatively recent theoretical approach, gene-culture coevolution theory, has the conceptual apparatus to remedy this problem and thus make Veblen's ideas an important part of contemporary evolutionary thinking in social theory.