Barder argues that human development is a property of the economic, political, and social system itself, instead of just the sum of improvements in the well being of people or as the output of firms. Amartya Sen touches on the multidimensional nature of poverty and development, but Barder continues this idea and explains how the key factor in development is experimentation and co-evolution. Barder outlines the importance of a system’s journey towards a more complex, more suitable, more developed system due to extensive adaptive change. As an example, Barder talked about the development of a nozzle where one person tested multiple random nozzle structures to see which one was best. Then, he created 45 more random nozzle structures based on that one, and over several generations, he came up with very efficient nozzle which was hundreds of times better than the original. This is similar to the biological example of the evolution of the eye: eyes took millions of years to adapt and develop to become its current structure and mechanism today.
In his lecture, these recommendations fit under his section of “7 policy conclusions”. Essentially, these are recommendations to keep in mind when systems are creating policies which target development. These are all recommendations which supports the progression of complex adaptive system, which is the most optimal way towards human development. Innovation, creative destruction, and shape development help push forward co-evolution of systems, replacing inadequate solutions with more favorable solutions.