IDTF-thumbnail
IDTF-thumbnail
ID the Future Intelligent Design, Evolution, and Science Podcast
Episodes
Share
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Flipboard
Print
Email

A Darwinian Case for Capitalism?

Guest
John G. West
Share
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Flipboard
Print
Email

This episode of ID the Future features an excerpt from a lecture by CSC Senior Fellow John West on Darwinism and capitalism. Most people associate “social Darwinism” with the ruthless capitalists of the Gilded Age, but West debunks that cultural icon, drawing the connection between Thomas Malthus and Darwin and examining the implications of zero-sum economics in Malthusian theory.

Can conservatives appeal to Darwin’s theory to defend capitalism? What about the so-called undesigned “spontaneous order” some conservatives argue is present in free market economics? Listen in to find out.

For more on Darwin and capitalism, check out West’s book, Darwin’s Conservatives: The Misguided Quest.

John G. West

Senior Fellow, Managing Director, and Vice President of Discovery Institute
Dr. John G. West is Vice President of the Seattle-based Discovery Institute and Managing Director of the Institute’s Center for Science and Culture. Formerly the Chair of the Department of Political Science and Geography at Seattle Pacific University, West is an award-winning author and documentary filmmaker who has written or edited 12 books, including Darwin Day in America: How Our Politics and Culture Have Been Dehumanized in the Name of Science, The Magician’s Twin: C. S. Lewis on Science, Scientism, and Society, and Walt Disney and Live Action: The Disney Studio’s Live-Action Features of the 1950s and 60s. His documentary films include Fire-Maker, Revolutionary, The War on Humans, and (most recently) Human Zoos. West holds a PhD in Government from Claremont Graduate University, and he has been interviewed by media outlets such as CNN, Fox News, Reuters, Time magazine, The New York Times, USA Today, and The Washington Post.
Tags