Customer Reviews

Bionomics: The inevitability of capitalism

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Rothschild argues that free-market capitalism is not an "ism" but a naturally occurring phenomenon. Bionomics makes extensive parallels with the world of biology to reveal capitalism's cooperative as well as competitive aspects. This book predates many more recent writings that apply biological and emergent order ideas to markets and is still one of the best discussions. As the economy is continually and dynamically driven into new states by technological change, the lessons of Bionomics are more pertinent than ever. They suggest great caution regarding government planning and control of a naturally growing and self-regulating market economy. Government's role is to protect the property rights that allow new economic orders to flourish.

As an economics major ('75 grad) I found this a facsinating read. Rothschild notes that the roots of Darwin's natural selection theory came from his study of economics...and it makes intuitive sense that economics would have much more to do with biology than math and statistics. Capitalism is not just another economic system... it is a natural emergent quality of nature itself. If you want to understand the "New Economics" you must read this book, which will be required reading in all econ courses I'm sure.

An excellent book on economics that should be of interest to all supporters of the free market, especially to Austrian-school economists and supporters of a Hayekian view of spontaneous order.

I agree with the reader from Northern Virginia who points out that Darwinism is not as well established as Rothschild thinks; the reviewer in question is probably thinking of e.g. Michael Behe's excellent _Darwin's Black Box_, which see.

But that doesn't detract much from the ideas in _Bionomics_ -- in fact the theory of natural selection was itself originally an importation of economic ideas into biology. (And those ideas do have application there, even if they don't explain _everything_. An economic account doesn't explain _all_ of human society, either -- just some features of how it works.)

So think of this book as completing the circle: economics is at last reclaiming its own ideas from biology. Rothschild is right that his analogies with evolution aren't exact. But his book is actually a _better_ application of the ideas in question than is the theory of natural selection.

It makes good sense that the coordinated activities of _purposeful_ beings should result in overall patterns that look purposeful themselves -- much _better_ sense than that purposeful behavior _itself_ should ultimately result from fundamentally nonteleological activities.

This is a wonderfully rich book in describing modern economics using the principals of the biology. It makes the most basic economic principals understood by using the theories of evolution. It should be required reading for Economic students (it would have been great to have this book in my Econ classes). The book also provides some excellent history of economic thought, the history of evolution, history of the stream driving motor, and more.

I would highly recommend it even though there are some parts where Rothschild uses slightly bias language to make his points (particularly about the saving rates in the U.S.). I have the version that was written in 1990. It was be especially interesting to read the updated version, especially given everything that has happen during the 1990s.

Rothschild, Congratulations on an excellent book. -matthew@mkaz.com

A five star in every respect, should be made required reading in every economics class; eye opening and revolutionary. I am on the Board of Advisors of 2 of the best known business schools in the US and have told both deans, this book should be read by every MBA candidate.

This is an outstanding book that opened up the whole idea of basing economics on the living sciences rather than physics...

If you find this book interesting, you should also look at the more recent (2004) book "Economia" by Australian scientist Geoff Davies. The book is unfortunately not listed on Amazon, but a search on Google will turn up numerous reviews and an excerpt for those interested.

I had the chance to stumble on this book 5 years ago (1996) while attending business school, and it was just an amazing intellectual experience.

The book helps you make sense of not only the business world, but life in general. The essential message I took from it was that you don't have to reinvent the wheel everyday, most answers to social, economic or technological problems can be found in nature.

After this book you won't look at a tree the same way you used to. A must read for any business student or decision maker.

This book opened for me ways of seeing both personal and coorporate life in a context that is both exciting and refreshing. The author puts forward a very interesting theory about human development, a theory that we have all known but few have understood or been able to put to words. He gives a possible answere to the question "Why did mankind stay relatively undeveloped until a few hundred years ago" His suggestions and the views expressed in the book make a lot of sense to me and go very close to guaranteeing success at whatever one is doing. This is a book that everyone should read. Its an eye opener!

Michael Rothschild provides fresh new insights into the way economies operate, especially as we head further into the digital age. Most classical economic theorists are at a loss to explain the kind of rapid acceleration in technological innovation we have seen in the past several years. This is a refreshing new perspective that makes a lot of sense, even though it was written several years ago.

This is one of the seminal works of the new economy long before the internet exploded and the term was coined. It is a landmark synthesis of technology and economics that remains unmatched 10 years after its release. A long list of industry heavyweights praised this effort at the time, it continues to merit this praise today. Here is an excerpt in Rothschild's own words:

"Capitalism, or the market economy, or the free enterprise system-or whatever you choose to label it-was not planned. Like life on earth, it did not need to be. Capitalism just happened, and it will keep on happening. Quite spontaneously. Capitalism flourishes whenever it is not suppressed, because it is a naturally occurring phenomenon. It is human society organizing itself for survival in a world of limited resources..."Having said all that, it is obvious that what the author presents is a very interesting set of ideas as opposed to a 'movement' of sorts. You can find faults with his technical analysis and conclusions and still come away with some genuine pearls.