Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection and Social Darwinism Essay

People such as Adolf Hitler used Social Darwinism and Eugenics to justify classifying some people as inferior and the genocide of those people. “A substantial case can be made for social Darwinism as one of the significant factors that led to the war” (Keas, 2010). “Hitler believed that the human gene pool could be improved by using selective breeding similar to how farmers breed superior cattle strains. Hitler’s government relied heavily upon Darwinism, development and implementation of policies designed to protect the superior race” (Bergman,

Darwin’s theory of evolution states that natural selection is a key mechanism in evolution. Organisms that are better adapted to the habitat will survive to pass on their genetic material to the next generation, whereas those that are less adapted will fail. If natural selection is actively selecting the traits best suited for survival, why are our bodies so prone to ill health and disease?

Social Darwinism is a term to describe the idea that humans compete for existence just like the rest of the animal kingdom. Darwin used this term to attempt to rationalize racism, capitalism, and imperialism. It simplifies the human’s desire for power. Now it is widely discredited and scrutinized because its a “ rejection of compassion and social responsibility.” (1)

Social Darwinism is based off of Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection. He uses the concept of survival of the fittest. This was used to justify class distinctions and to explain the reason for poverty. Modern science declared that the failure to advance in society was due to the lack of self reliance and determination. They acted down on people who needed government aid. Even during the depression people still believed the notion that the poor were responsible for their fate. The idea of natural superiority was around since the Civil War. So much so, we thought it was okay to own human beings.

Many people turned to Social Darwinism to argue against government programs to aid the poor, because they believed the poor were inferior humans. Herbert Spencer actually backed this idea and even gave an example by telling a story of a girl named Margaret from New York who only lived because of government aid, and had become a “prolific mother” and produced many children that grew up to be “idiots, imbeciles, drunkards, lunatics, paupers, and prostitutes.” he ended the example by asking a question of “Was it kindness or cruelty which, generation after generation, enabled these to multiply and become an increasing curse to society around them?”. Social darwinism was often cited in eugenics which sought to improve the health and intelligence of the human race where they would often sterilize “inferior” humans, often targeting the poor, women, minorities, and immigrants to allow a superior human race to thrive and grow. Though social darwinism was very popular among americans in the gilded age during the second world war Social darwinism began to lose favor among the american people do to its use in Nazi

With the ideas of Darwinism the seeds of eugenics were also sown , here a biological shaping of its citizens and those deemed beneficial encouraged those that were not were to be managed. The bodily appearance of groups was used as an indicator of a pre-disposition towards anti-social behaviour based upon the conception of they being more similar to animals and thus less rational, more inclined to criminality and less deserving of rights. This domestically this manifested itself in governing in a biopolitical way and of policies that discouraged these groups from having families and carrying on their genetic traits, many that were physically and mentally disabled or ill were sent to asylums, the poor to work houses. Taken to the extreme it was used as justification for the genocide of Jews

In 1859, Charles Darwin published his most famous work, On the Origin of the Species by Means of Natural Selection (Encarta 96). This book explained Darwin's theory of natural selection, a process not unlike separating the wheat from the chaff, where the least fit are eliminated, and only the fittest survive. An extension of this theory known as Social Darwinism emerged in the late 19th century. "Social Darwinists believed that people, like animals and plants, compete for survival and, by extension, success in life" (Encarta 96). Under this theory, the individuals who acquire the power and wealth are deemed the fittest, while those of lower economic and social levels are considered the least fit (Griffin

Social Darwinism is a popular social evolution theory in 19 century propounded by Herbert Spencer. It refers to notions of struggle for existence being used to justify social policies, which show no sympathy for those unable to support them. Rationalized by the notion that colonized nations, poor people, or disadvantaged minorities must have deserved their situations because they were “less fit” than those who were better off.

Social Darwinism is hurtful to the Natives because Natives are put into prison, treated poorly and unfairly, and they abused the natives. The most negative thing is that the Natives were treated poorly and unfairly. For example, one of the Officers in the prison was forced to eat fertilizer from the officer’s shoes. Which was very unfair because the officer did that because the officer thought the Native was up to something. The officers would hit them for no reason. The natives had to address the officers as master. This is very “down grading” as in making them feel like they are nothing and that the officers are better than the Natives and the English not having to calm them master.

First, the racialized narrative which came with establishing race is what caused many people to feel less empathetic the events of genocide being perpetrated against a fellow human being. Second the division caused by classifying a hierarchy does create a social-darwinist environment by establishing a prisoners dilemma of survival of the fittest much like fredrickson suggested. Evidenced by Hitler’s Lebensraum which developed from the idea that space is what will be survival and all resources are a zero sum game, meaning that any race that was not Aryan directly endangered that vision.

For more than 150 years, a revolutionary idea has been spreading all over the world. It helped us discover our origins and revealed our place in nature. It led to the unification of once independent fields of scientific inquiry. And it is being used today to tackle some of the most pressing problems facing modern civilization. But its implications go far beyond science. It has shaped our culture, politics, philosophy and religion, and it has been used to justify war and genocide. That idea is Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection.

Worldwide, millions of people wake up every morning in fear their lives are in danger of other people. Everyone has heard about genocides, and unfair treatment, but few people know what it is actually like. Social Darwinism is when humans think they are better than other people and it can lead into the killing of others. Herbert Spencer promoted this idea in the late 19th century for political reasoning. Subsequently, Social Darwinism exists and is evident in both literature and the real world.

The type of ideology formed and carried out through Darwinism determines what people have access to and what injustices become justified. We begin to view people fitting the mold of the “other” as non-deserving of life and justify their maltreatment.

The point that James Loewen is trying to make about the social class in the united states is, a lot of history books do not talk about social class, so a lot of high school graduates do not understand why they are in the social class that thy are in. Social Darwinism is the success and failure of people to advance in society where the strong survive and the weak do not. An example of blaming the victim would be blaming the poor people for being poor, and not making their way up the social ladder.

With the establishment of Europe and the uprising of many new nations and counties led European natives to gain knowledge of new ideologies of political and economic control. In the late nineteenth century a young naturalist and biologist from England by the name of Charles Darwin, created a theory that human beings, like animals and plants, compete in a struggle for existence. In which the theory of natural selection was crafted and resulted in Darwin’s “survival of the fittest”. Scholars began to use the term Social Darwinism in order to describe the concept of Charles Darwin to explain the philosophical justification behind racism, politics, economics and social issues.