Complex Networks and Evolutionary Selection in Political Economy

20 Pages Posted: 14 Dec 2021 Last revised: 14 Sep 2023

See all articles by Hilton L. Root

Hilton L. Root

George Mason University - Schar School of Policy and Government; King’s College London - Department of Political Economy

Date Written: September 13, 2023

Abstract

To build better models of large-scale socioeconomic systems, political economists are learning to adapt network analytics and evolutionary selection theories. A complex systems approach can unify these efforts with the conceptual tools to understand large systems, their macroscopic properties, and typical behaviors. This approach, which augments mechanical physics with the statistical physics of systems with many degrees of freedom, enables reinterpretations of major institutional transitions in the development of European society. Cultural evolution that balanced individual and group selection within complex social networks ignited the creative explosion that accounts for our current technological capabilities. But the current ecological crisis calls for a mechanism of evolutionary selection at the level of the entire system.

Keywords: Political Economy, Complex Systems, Institutions, Networks, Cultural Evolution

JEL Classification: A12, B15, B25, B41, B52, D85, F63, N01, N13, N15, N43, N45, P16, P37, P48, P51

Suggested Citation

Root, Hilton L., Complex Networks and Evolutionary Selection in Political Economy (September 13, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3979788 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3979788

Hilton L. Root (Contact Author)

George Mason University - Schar School of Policy and Government ( email )

Founders Hall, Fifth Floor
3351 Fairfax Drive, MS 3B1
Arlington, VA 22201
United States

King’s College London - Department of Political Economy ( email )

Strand Building
London
United Kingdom

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