--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As Thorstein Veblen correctly surmised…" description: "\"“As Thorstein Veblen correctly surmised over a century ago, the failure of economics to become an evolutionary science is the product of the optimizing..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/steve-keen-37679_2009_as-thorstein-veblen-correctly-surmised-o_2498605.jpg" --- # As Thorstein Veblen correctly surmised over a century ago… ![“As Thorstein Veblen correctly surmised over a century ago, the failure of economics to become an evolutionary science is the product of the optimizing framework of the underlying paradigm, which is inherently antithetical to the process of evolutionary change. This is the primary reason why the…” quote by Steve Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/steve-keen-37679_2009_as-thorstein-veblen-correctly-surmised-o_2498605.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/steve-keen-37679_2009_as-thorstein-veblen-correctly-surmised-o_2498605.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/steve-keen-37679_2009_as-thorstein-veblen-correctly-surmised-o_2498605.jpg) > ““As Thorstein Veblen correctly surmised over a century ago, the failure of economics to become an evolutionary science is the product of the optimizing framework of the underlying paradigm, which is inherently antithetical to the process of evolutionary change. This is the primary reason why the neoclassical mantra that the economy must be perceived as the outcome of the decisions of utility-maximizing individuals must be squarely rejected.”” [Steve Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-keen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that economics cannot be truly evolutionary because it relies on an optimizing, utility‑maximizing framework that contradicts evolutionary processes. **In simple terms:** Economics' focus on optimization blocks evolutionary thinking. Key Takeaway Rethink economic models to include adaptation and change. Themes economics evolution optimization paradigm theory Mood critical analytical thought‑provoking Type theoretical critical philosophical When to use this quote - academic research - policy design - business strategy - education curriculum - public debate Key Concepts Evolutionary economics methodology systemic thinking Questions to Reflect On - How can economic models incorporate both optimization and evolutionary dynamics? - What empirical evidence supports an evolutionary approach? A Different Perspective The critique may overlook cases where optimization and evolution coexist, such as market selection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Stupid people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stupid-people/) ## Related quotes > [“Economics also has to become a fundamentally monetary discipline—from the consideration of how individuals make market decisions through to our understanding of macroeconomics. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-keen/economics-also-has-to-become-a-fundamentally-monetary-discipline-from/) [Steve Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-keen/) > [“From this failure to expunge the microeconomic foundations of neoclassical economics from post-Great Depression theory arose the "microfoundations of macroeconomics" debate, which ultimately led…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-keen/from-this-failure-to-expunge-the-microeconomic-foundations-of/) [Steve Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-keen/) > [“Neoclassical economics has effectively insulated itself from the great advances made in science and engineering over the last 40 years. This self-imposed isolation must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-keen/neoclassical-economics-has-effectively-insulated-itself-from-the/) [Steve Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-keen/) > [“An essential pedagogic step here is to relegate the teaching of mathematical methods in economics to mathematics departments. Any mathematical training in economics, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-keen/an-essential-pedagogic-step-here-is-to-relegate-the-teaching-of/) [Steve Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-keen/) > [Evolutionary science kind of bears that out: When species are rivals and competing for space and resources, the superior one wins. Nature has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-pellegrino/evolutionary-science-kind-of-bears-that-out-when-species-are-rivals/) [Mark Pellegrino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-pellegrino/) > [“Science, even evolutionary science, bases its theories, its predictions, and its conclusions on the stability of physical laws. Evolutionary science makes the mistake of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-morris-iii/science-even-evolutionary-science-bases-its-theories-its-predictions/) Henry Morris III > [“Every other aspect of life that was once attributed to divine intent is now elegantly and completely explained in the context of evolutionary science.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/every-other-aspect-of-life-that-was-once-attributed-to-divine-intent/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [Both of these branches of evolutionary science, are, in my opinion, in the closest causal connection; this arises from the reciprocal action of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-haeckel/both-of-these-branches-of-evolutionary-science-are-in-my-opinion-in/) [Ernst Haeckel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-haeckel/) > [“By asking why, by seeking meaning (not in any final sense, but in the immediate sense of use or purpose), Darwin found in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-sacks/by-asking-why-by-seeking-meaning-not-in-any-final-sense-but-in-the/) [Oliver Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-sacks/) > [The essence of Darwinism lies in its claim that natural selection creates the fit. Variation is ubiquitous and random in direction. It supplies raw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-essence-of-darwinism-lies-in-its-claim-that-natural-selection/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [“Life on earth evolved gradually beginning with one primitive life form – perhaps a self-replicating molecule – that lived more than 3.5 billion years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/life-on-earth-evolved-gradually-beginning-with-one-primitive-life/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [Speciation does not necessarily promote evolutionary change; rather, speciation 'gathers in' and guards evolutionary change by locking and stabilization for sufficient geological time within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/speciation-does-not-necessarily-promote-evolutionary-change-rather/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Nowhere was Darwin able to point to one bona fide case of natural selection having actually generated evolutionary change in nature…Ultimately, the Darwinian theory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-denton/nowhere-was-darwin-able-to-point-to-one-bona-fide-case-of-natural/) [Michael Denton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-denton/) > [Leadership is the ability to step outside the culture to start evolutionary change processes that are more adaptive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-schein/leadership-is-the-ability-to-step-outside-the-culture-to-start/) [Edgar Schein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-schein/) > [“Natural selection eliminates and maybe maintains, but it doesn't create... Neo-Darwinists say that new species emerge when mutations occur and modify an organism. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-margulis/natural-selection-eliminates-and-maybe-maintains-but-it-doesn-t/) [Lynn Margulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-margulis/) ## More by Steve Keen > [“We should look closely on what is happening at the moment, guys with little moustaches can pop up everywhere now given this instable economic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-keen/we-should-look-closely-on-what-is-happening-at-the-moment-guys-with/) [Steve Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-keen/) > [“A period of tranquil growth thus leads to rising expectations, and a tendency to increase leverage: as Minsky put it in his most famous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-keen/a-period-of-tranquil-growth-thus-leads-to-rising-expectations-and-a/) [Steve Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-keen/) > [“Neoclassical economics has effectively insulated itself from the great advances made in science and engineering over the last 40 years. This self-imposed isolation must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-keen/neoclassical-economics-has-effectively-insulated-itself-from-the/) [Steve Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-keen/) > [“The fallacy that dynamic processes must be modeled as if the system is in continuous equilibrium is probably the most important reason for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-keen/the-fallacy-that-dynamic-processes-must-be-modeled-as-if-the-system/) [Steve Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-keen/) > [“An essential pedagogic step here is to relegate the teaching of mathematical methods in economics to mathematics departments. Any mathematical training in economics, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-keen/an-essential-pedagogic-step-here-is-to-relegate-the-teaching-of/) [Steve Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-keen/) > [Economics is too important to leave to the economists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-keen/economics-is-too-important-to-leave-to-the-economists/) [Steve Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-keen/) > [“From this failure to expunge the microeconomic foundations of neoclassical economics from post-Great Depression theory arose the "microfoundations of macroeconomics" debate, which ultimately led…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-keen/from-this-failure-to-expunge-the-microeconomic-foundations-of/) [Steve Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-keen/) > [If you have a sane economy, and by sane economy I mean one which is not addicted to debt, not a Ponzi economy, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-keen/if-you-have-a-sane-economy-and-by-sane-economy-i-mean-one-which-is/) [Steve Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-keen/) > [“Economics also has to become a fundamentally monetary discipline—from the consideration of how individuals make market decisions through to our understanding of macroeconomics. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-keen/economics-also-has-to-become-a-fundamentally-monetary-discipline-from/) [Steve Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-keen/) > [“...If you look at mainstream economics there are three things you will not find in a mainstream economic model - Banks, Debt, and Money.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-keen/if-you-look-at-mainstream-economics-there-are-three-things-you-will/) [Steve Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-keen/) > [Engineers do engineering, i.e. they build bridges. So engineering needs engineers. The economy does NOT need economists. Economists do not make economy, but they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-keen/engineers-do-engineering-i-e-they-build-bridges-so-engineering-needs/) [Steve Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-keen/) [Explore all 12 Steve Keen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-keen/) ## More 2009 quotes > [“This is what you get when you found a political system on the family values of Henry VIII. At a point in the not-too-remote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/this-is-what-you-get-when-you-found-a-political-system-on-the-family/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Neoclassical economics has effectively insulated itself from the great advances made in science and engineering over the last 40 years. This self-imposed isolation must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-keen/neoclassical-economics-has-effectively-insulated-itself-from-the/) [Steve Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-keen/) > [“I spent a lot of time in Arcadia when I worked there in 2009.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/i-spent-a-lot-of-time-in-arcadia-when-i-worked-there-in-2009/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“The fallacy that dynamic processes must be modeled as if the system is in continuous equilibrium is probably the most important reason for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-keen/the-fallacy-that-dynamic-processes-must-be-modeled-as-if-the-system/) [Steve Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-keen/) > [“Weddings are great, but they mostly end up in marriages and that is the problem.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radovan-kavick/weddings-are-great-but-they-mostly-end-up-in-marriages-and-that-is/) [Radovan Kavický](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radovan-kavick/) > [“I really look forward to that insane hour that we spend together. I really do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-farrell/i-really-look-forward-to-that-insane-hour-that-we-spend-together-i/) [Colin Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-farrell/) > [“Prezraď mi najväčších inzerentov v tvojom obľúbenom printovom médiu a ja ti poviem, čo čítaš i čo nečítaš.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radovan-kavick/prezra-mi-najv-ch-inzerentov-v-tvojom-ob-benom-printovom-m-diu-a-ja/) [Radovan Kavický](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radovan-kavick/) > [“True creativity is inherently destructive, and truly creative individuals always, without exception, seek to destroy the mediums they work within.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-haddow/true-creativity-is-inherently-destructive-and-truly-creative/) Douglas Haddow > [“An essential pedagogic step here is to relegate the teaching of mathematical methods in economics to mathematics departments. Any mathematical training in economics, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-keen/an-essential-pedagogic-step-here-is-to-relegate-the-teaching-of/) [Steve Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-keen/) > [“I was the manager of the largest solar photovoltaic power system in the USA in 2009.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/i-was-the-manager-of-the-largest-solar-photovoltaic-power-system-in/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“Remember one thing as South Africa prepares to go to the polls this week and the world grapples with the ascendancy of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-gevisser/remember-one-thing-as-south-africa-prepares-to-go-to-the-polls-this/) [Mark Gevisser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-gevisser/) > [“You don’t have to dumb it down, but you do have to sum it up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-blow/you-don-t-have-to-dumb-it-down-but-you-do-have-to-sum-it-up/) [Charles M. Blow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-blow/) > [“From this failure to expunge the microeconomic foundations of neoclassical economics from post-Great Depression theory arose the "microfoundations of macroeconomics" debate, which ultimately led…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-keen/from-this-failure-to-expunge-the-microeconomic-foundations-of/) [Steve Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-keen/) > [“Economics also has to become a fundamentally monetary discipline—from the consideration of how individuals make market decisions through to our understanding of macroeconomics. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-keen/economics-also-has-to-become-a-fundamentally-monetary-discipline-from/) [Steve Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-keen/) > [“I say, seeking to diminish the human dignity of another whose only crime is not loving whom you would have him or her love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-blow/i-say-seeking-to-diminish-the-human-dignity-of-another-whose-only/) [Charles M. Blow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-blow/) Browse all 19 2009 quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“As Thorstein Veblen correctly surmised over a century ago, the failure of economics to become an evolutionary science is the product of the optimizing framework of the underlying paradigm, which is inherently antithetical to the process of evolutionary change. This is the primary reason why the neoclassical mantra that the economy must be perceived as the outcome of the decisions of utility-maximizing individuals must be squarely rejected.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steve Keen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-keen/as-thorstein-veblen-correctly-surmised-over-a-century-ago-the-failure/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "2009" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-keen/as-thorstein-veblen-correctly-surmised-over-a-century-ago-the-failure/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/steve-keen-37679_2009_as-thorstein-veblen-correctly-surmised-o_2498605.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/steve-keen-37679_2009_as-thorstein-veblen-correctly-surmised-o_2498605.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/steve-keen-37679_2009_as-thorstein-veblen-correctly-surmised-o_2498605.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As Thorstein Veblen correctly surmised over a century ago, the failure of economics to become an…” — Steve Keen", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Steve Keen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-keen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“As Thorstein Veblen correctly surmised over...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-keen/as-thorstein-veblen-correctly-surmised-over-a-century-ago-the-failure/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-keen/as-thorstein-veblen-correctly-surmised-over-a-century-ago-the-failure/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```