The first essay in the book is a polemic against what Robinson terms “Darwinism,” or, in common parlance, “survival of the fittest.”1 This doesn’t refer to evolution, but to an “interpretation of this phenomenon which claims to refute religion and imply a personal and social ethic which is, not coincidentally, antithetical to the assumptions imposed and authorized by Judeo-Christianity.”2 Darwinism implies this ethic because it grew from “primitive, sometimes called classical, economics.”3
Robinson’s beef is with the dehumanizing effects of “survival of the fittest,” especially through economics by way of free markets.
Rivers flow to the sea — this fact implies no obligation on our part to abet them in it, to eliminate meanders and flood plains. If economics were natural in this sense, presumably moderating, stabilizing mechanisms would be intrinsic to its systems. But economics is simply human traffic in what people make and do and value and need, or think they need, a kind of epitome of civilization. It is the wealth of nations, and also their fraudulence and malice and vainglory. It is no more reliably benign or rational than any other human undertaking. That is to say, it requires conscious choice and control, the making of moral and ethical judgments.4
Pursuing this, Robinson launches an involved critique of Darwinism, its progenitors and its defenders. Darwin, Malthus and Spencer are all roundly castigated, but Robinson saves her greatest ire for Nietzsche and Freud, along with the contemporary philosopher Daniel Dennett. This may seem like a roundabout way to criticize supply-side economics. But Robinson’s point is that “free markets” are only the most obvious manifestation of the general slant of modern thought, which has “declared the death of Adam,”5 that is, denied humanity and set aside humane concerns.
The essay ranges wide (one post can’t do it justice,) and, honestly, I’m overwhelmed. I understand it, and agree with it. Her arguments are strong and skillfully woven together, and the prose, likewise. Nevertheless it’s a lot to take in, and I’m at a loss to add anything of value. All I can say is that it’s worth your time to read it.