Bionomics: Economy As Ecosystem (Paperback)

by Michael Rothschild (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Economists from across the political spectrum will have plenty to howl about as a result of this fresh and engaging statement of a new economic theory. Rothschild, a business consultant, lawyer, and MBA, gores all the traditional oxen without favoritism. His theory, which is well presented and well illustrated by example and analogy, uses biology and genetics as a template for the way that economic systems develop. He sees capitalism as the evolutionary result of organisms (businesses, corporations, markets, economies) that seek to preserve themselves through adaptation to environment and "genetic" inheritance of successful characteristics. Bound to be controversial, this book is different from the spate of futurist tomes about the world of tomorrow in a dozen ways, not the least of which is that it is highly enjoyable and absorbing reading. Rothschild's discussion of biological evolution is worth having in and of itself. An unusual and accessible addition to general and business collections, as well as the social sciences.
- Mark L. Shelton, Columbus, Ohio
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
Hailed as a landmark account of how we organize ourselves for work, this wise, experience-tested book looks to nature as the model for how things work in the modern business world. Rothschild's anecdote-rich text challenges traditional thinking with a fresh vision of economics as a self-organizing system that is as natural as life itself.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Company; Reissue edition (April 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805019790
• ISBN-13: 978-0805019797
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #178,373 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Free markets occur naturally; let them grow, December 15, 2000

By	Max More "Max More" (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The New Economics, December 6, 1999

By	AD (Boston) - See all my reviews

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.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book., September 11, 1999

By	John S. Ryan "Scott Ryan" (Silver Lake, OH) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.