Social Darwinism was developed in the 19th century in reference to Charles Darwin ideas and understanding. It involves the application of the theory of natural selection to social, economic and political or any other related issues. It follows the “survival for the fittest” mantra. Herbert Spencer is a widely acknowledge philosopher accredited for promoting the idea of social Darwinism. He made the very first hypothesis of the Darwinian thought on the human societal basis and ethical behavior.
Herbert Spencer embraced Darwin’s work and used most of his concepts to coin the maxim “the survival for the fittest” to comprehensively describe the results of any competitive social environment. Spencer contended that; through completion in any environment, social evolution would automatically produce incomparable personal liberty and prosperity in the mankind history. Many sociologists, historians and intellectuals have considerably supported the social Darwinism theory.
The Social Darwinism concept is based on Darwin’s observations and remarks that weaker members of animal or human population tend to be eliminated over several other generations. He points out that, survival for the fittest safeguards the stronger species where the best qualities are easily picked from and reproduced. Social Darwinism and the idea of the strong having rights over the weak clarifies that people can pretext any vile behaviors or actions against any other weak individual.
This concept was applied during the Industrial Revolution era to ensure that governments do not allow any kind of laws or polices that support workers’ rights. At the time, workers were disadvantaged and feeble and it does not matter whether they experience any kind of abuse in the work environment. The social Darwinism concept has its own impacts to the human race. Colonialism and racial execution were core and nastiest applications of the Social Darwinism theory.
The theory applied in colonialism cases where the people of one region would claim a territory of another community and suppress their day to day activities. Imperialism also followed the ideas of Darwinism where one country would extend its control and power over another nation. In accord to social Darwinist philosophy, if one nation does not hold off other nations military troops, then it had no room for survival. Adolf Hitler used the same concept to authorize murder of Jewish people during the World War II.
Herbert Spencer’s move to adapt his own ideas to those of natural selection concept by Darwin caused a lot of confusion especially when tackling social, economic and technological and educational issues. Spencer took Darwin’s ideas further and claimed that human beings with educational, financial or physical supremacy will survive while those with inferior traits will fail in their endeavors or die. Darwin only applied his ideas on nature, but did not base them on society; hence intellectuals have differed with Herbert spencer in one way or another.
While many sociologist, philosophers and intellectuals have looked at the negative impacts of the social Darwinism theory, the concept can also be relied on in a positive way. Evidently, some social Darwinists related spencer’s ideas to entrepreneurship. They brought up the idea that economy is successful when there is no interference from government, community and other institutions. Hence, the welfare of the society is naturally cared for. Public institutions and many other infrastructures are built in regard to social Darwinism providing a way for the fittest in the society to survive.
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