The question 'What is art?' is frequently debated, but 'What is science?' appears to be discussed less often - though the answers could reveal far more about us.

Is science a public good? Does science mean progress? Or is science something more exploitative - driven by profit, promoted by businesses and institutions looking for economic and political power?

In this ground-breaking study in the tradition of Richard Dawkins and Jared Diamond, Terence Kealey shows how an understanding of sexual and natural selection can transform our view of progress in economics, business and technology. Richly multi-disciplinary, witty, brilliant and thought-provoking, it is an important and controversial book.