Darwin and commerce

Darwin's contribution was not to advocate the evolution of the species, especially for humans.  That idea was old and had been debated for centuries before Darwin was born.

Darwin's great contribution was to offer a mechanism to explain the forces that generated evolution and to offer evidence to support his thesis. 

It was nearly fifty years before many scientists in the field of biology began to understand Darwin's contribution.  The initial debates about Darwin were based on the recognition among a few biologists that Darwin had presented a very good data base for evidence of evolution.  Only a few later began to grasp the idea of the forces involved (random variation and selection).

By the beginning of the 20th Century the idea of social Darwinism was entering the realm of public discussion.

My beloved readers can understand how wrong the idea of social Darwinism is by understanding that the mechanism 'survival of the fittest' is flat out a wrong idea and does not grow out of Darwin's theory or data.

The term survival of the fittest should correctly be survival of the fittingest.  A particular wasp species does not survive while others fail because of some abstract notion of being stronger, smarter or faster than other wasps...it survives because it uses the resources in its environment better; it eats something others reject, it smells worse, its smaller, it hides better...etc.  It fits the environment it inhabits better than another species.  It is the fittingest that survives.

If you figured out that idea yourself then you understand that Darwin's two forces, random variation and selection by survival form a powerful idea.

Hopefully, you can also begin to understand commerce.  Commerce is a human mechanism for generating human well-being. 

There are three components of commerce (trade, industry and clientry).  All three work on a variation/selection mechanism. 

* The variation is sometimes random (blind foolishness) but most often it is driven by whim, imagination, intelligence, copying others and determination.

* The selection is seldom death. Selection is most often learning to read the bookkeeping numbers; it is also reorganization, bankruptcy and failure.

Summary: the real Darwinian contribution took 50 years to be understood; variation and selection.  I hope the similar Phillips' commerce contribution doesn't take that long.