Abstract

This article aims at showing that an individualistic explanation of societal evolution is possible as well as fruitful. In order to accomplish that an individualistic theory (value expectancy or utility theory) is applied to explain the development of an ‘utopian’ group. Conditions are specified under which this system develops in different ways. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the application of individualistic theories results in the modification of some existing hypotheses, for example, from marxist writings. The paper also explores the logic and possibilities of constructing evolutionary hypotheses.