The Darwin Economy

Who was the greater economist—Adam Smith or Charles Darwin? In his latest book, Robert Frank, New York Times columnist and Professor of Economics at Cornell University, 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—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.

The New America Foundation’s Economic Growth Program and Asset Building Program hosted a timely conversation with Robert Frank, author of The Darwin Economy.

Participants

Featured Speaker
Robert H. Frank
Professor of Economics, Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University
Distinguished Senior Fellow, Demos
Author, The Darwin Economy

Moderator
Reid Cramer
Director, Asset Building Program
New America Foundation