Evolutionary Economics And Economic Progress - A Naturalist Proposal

‘Economic progress’ is an important normative concept to make welfare statements. However, most such approaches are static, not only including behaviorally unsound assumptions, but also relying on the assumption of given and unchanging preferences. Given increasing income through innovations, new opportunities come into existence. This does not lend plausibility to the idea of unchanging preferences. The present paper wants to explore in how far a notion of economic progress can be maintained in an evolutionary economic, i.e. dynamic, perspective. We argue for the adoption of a position called ‘sensory utilitarianism’ and develop a two-sided criterion for progress, where the first part consists of an increase in the satisfaction of ‘innate wants’. The second part is justified by an openness-argument concerning the ‘opportunity to learn’, pertaining to institutional setups where people are given the possibility to learn about new opportunities.