Two broad theoretical frameworks are increasingly being applied to the study of human socioeconomic systems: complex systems theory and evolutionary theory. Both are paradigmatic departures from the orthodox theory that dominates economics today, but they need to be further integrated with each other.
The new synthesis starts from the assumptions that humans and their social institutions are products of bio-cultural evolution and that modern economies are complex systems that require an analysis of their out-of-equilibrium dynamics. As we outline below, this Forum will develop a new synthesis and apply it to a wide variety of societal issues. Indeed, we argue that many of these issues cannot be deeply understood without such a perspective.
The two broad theoretical frameworks on which the new synthesis draws, complex systems theory and evolutionary theory, are themselves melting pots of the traditional academic disciplines (e.g., anthropology, biology, computer science, ecology, economics, genetics, neuroscience, physics, political science, psychology, sociology). However, they need to be further integrated with each other. Historically, complex systems theory developed with limited references to evolution and evolutionary theory developed with limited references to complex systems. A degree of theoretical integration has taken place during the last few decades in natural sciences, but relatively little integration has occurred in the specific context of human socioeconomic systems.
The aim of this Forum is to advance such integration and set an ambitious agenda for basic scientific research and real-world practical applications at multiple scales, from single groups to the global economy. Just as complex systems theory applies to all complex physical and living systems, and evolutionary theory applies to all living (and even some nonliving) systems, together they provide a framework that can be applied across a broad array of policy issues (some examples are provided below). The idea that a unified theoretical framework can be developed for public policy formulation is new, given the fragmented nature of current public policy formulation, but it follows directly from the generality of these two bodies of theory outside the arena of policy formulation.
Another hallmark of our approach is that policy formulation and basic scientific research will be integrated with each other. The best basic scientific research must be grounded in the study of real-world systems, which is also most relevant for addressing practical problems. Each of the working groups will be tasked with outlining an agenda that integrates basic scientific research and real-world applications.
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