Hayek’s social theory of evolution suggests that market liberal morality is
adaptive for social groups. He justified the evolutionary superiority of market liberalism
by asserting that groups operating under a market liberal morality would have
a higher capacity to expand and reproduce than groups with alternative tribal moralities.
Thus, market liberal groups would be favoured through cultural and genetic
group selection. But in fact, market liberal morality reveals maladaptive tendencies
and remains insufficiently powerful to create adaptive social groups. Hayek’s dismissal
of moral tribalism in favour of market liberal morality is found to underestimate the
importance of tribal goals in the evolutionary system.

• Is market liberalism adaptive? Rethinking F. A. Hayek on moral evolution