The Red Queen hypothesis, or the Red Queen effect, is an evolutionary hypothesis which proposes that organisms must constantly adapt, evolve, and proliferate not merely to gain reproductive advantage, but also simply to survive while pitted against ever-evolving opposing organisms in an ever-changing environment. The term is derived from a statement made by the Red Queen in the book Through the Looking-Glass when she said: “Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place.” The term has since been applied to many different areas in particular business management and economics.