Melanchthon:

En réalité chaque culture possède une histoire, sans que l'on puisse affirmer dans l'absolu qu'une culture soit plus ou moins avancée qu'une autre. « En vérité, il n'existe pas de peuples enfants ; tous sont adultes

The same can be said of biological evolution. More complex life forms are no more or less evolved than simpler ones. The simple life forms of today are very advanced compared to their ancestors (hundreds of) millions of years ago. The conventional representation of evolution with Man at the pinnacle, or of trophic dynamics as a "chain" or a pyramid is also wrong in the same way.

Maybe we need to convince the Serious people that the same is true of economic organization and that a less sophisticated economy is not necessarily less mature or in need of overhaul. We see what "financial innovation" has wrought.

En un viejo país ineficiente, algo así como España entre dos guerras civiles, poseer una casa y poca hacienda y memoria ninguna. -- Gil de Biedma