Evolution: Everything Evolves—Possibilities and Limits of Our View Into the Future

How will the economy develop in the future? Will it be possible to stop the ongoing environmental destruction, or do the existing structures leave too little room for change? Can we actively influence changes? If so, how? We try to answer these and similar questions with the concept of evolution. The concept of evolution was originally developed by the biologist and naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882), who used it to explain the development of species and differentiated between phenotype and genotype. The concept of evolution based on the interplay of genotype and phenotype can be generalized so that it can also be used outside of biology for developments in physics and economics. This chapter shows the potential of the evolution concept for dealing with environmental problems. Through considering predictable as well as unpredictable processes, inventions and innovations, novelty and ignorance, sustainable development can be driven, as we can influence and possibly control developments more specifically with the knowledge of evolutionary processes.