In 1976, the biologist Richard Dawkins identified the unit of Darwinian selection as the “selfish gene.” The evolutionary story was now recast as a battle of genes to secure their survival over time by means of mutations, which create individuals (phenotypes) best adapted to pass on their genes.
接着，情绪又开始了转变。社会民主受到了抨击，因为它惩罚成功者，奖励不成功者。1976年，生物学家理查德·道金斯识别出达尔文主义选择单元，称之为“自私的基因”。如今，进化的故事被演绎成基因生存战，随着时间的推移，各种基因通过突变保证其生存，于是产生了最适于传递基因的表型。在进化过程中，劣等表型消失了。