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Table of Contents
A broad range of views known as social Darwinism first appeared in the late 1800s. It has been argued that Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection supports specific political, social, or economic viewpoints. According to social Darwinists, the concept of “survival of the fittest” holds that certain people rise to prominence in society due to their inherent superiority. Over the past century, social Darwinism has been used to defend racism, Eugenics, imperialism, and socioeconomic inequality.
See the fact file below for more information about Social Darwinism, or download the comprehensive worksheet pack, which contains over 11 worksheets and can be used in the classroom or homeschooling environment.
Key Facts & Information
Misusing Darwin’s Theory
- Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection is a scientific hypothesis designed to explain facts about species and is entirely centered on defining the biological variety of life.
- However, others have utilized the idea to support a particular point of view regarding human social, political, or economic circumstances. These concepts suffer from the same underlying flaw: they employ a scientific methodology for a wholly non-scientific goal and misinterpret and misuse Darwin’s original ideas.
- The loose collection of ideologies collectively known as “Social Darwinism,” which is based on concepts of competition and natural selection, generally holds that the powerful in society is inherently better than the weak and that success is evidence of their superiority, is one such distortion and misuse.
- Darwin was vehemently opposed to inequality and oppression in society. He would have been horrified to learn that in the future, his name would be linked to programs like forced sterilization and ethnic cleansing, as well as opposing ideas like Marxism and unchecked capitalism.
- So-called Social Darwinists view fundamentally misinterpret the concepts initially outlined in The Origin of Species and utilized in contemporary biology, whether used to justify social inequity, racism, or Eugenics.
Evolution and Natural Selection
- Darwin’s hypothesis states that only organisms most suited to their surroundings will reproduce and pass on their genes to the following generation. Poorly appropriate plants and animals will not live to bear in their habitat.
- The seminal book On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin, published in 1859, contains his ideas on natural selection and the theory of evolution.
- Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection explained his observations of biological variety and why various kinds of plants and animals had diverse appearances.
Herbert Spencer
- Darwin nevertheless appropriated well-known ideas, such as “survival of the fittest” from sociologist Herbert Spencer and “struggle for existence” from economist Thomas Malthus, who had previously written about how human societies evolve, to communicate his scientific ideas to the British public.
- Rarely did Darwin discuss how he may use his theories in society. The Fit of hereditary traits like perseverance and the capacity to amass riches, however, appeared to many who followed Spencer and Malthus to be a confirmation by the science of what they already knew to be true about human society. The unfit were also inherently ignorant and sluggish.
Survival of the Fittest and Laissez-Faire Capitalism
- Herbert continued to draw connections between his economic theories and Darwin’s scientific principles after the publication of Darwin’s findings on biological evolution and natural selection.
- During the Industrial Revolution, the concept of “survival of the fittest” was used in the so-called laissez-faire or uncontrolled capitalism, in which enterprises were permitted to operate with minimal government supervision.
- In contrast to Darwin, Spencer thought that humans could genetically pass on acquired traits like morality and thrift to their offspring.
- Laws that supported laborers, the underprivileged, and people with weak genes were opposed by Spencer. He claimed that by postponing the demise of the “unfit,” such regulations would thwart the growth of civilization.
- American economist William Graham Sumner was a notable Social Darwinist. He was a welfare state critic from the beginning. He believed that might eliminate the weak and immoral members of the population via individual rivalry for wealth and social prestige.
Eugenics
- The British academic Sir Francis Galton (a half-cousin of Darwin) developed a new “science” he dubbed Eugenics that sought to improve the human race by purging society of its “undesirables” as social Darwinist explanations of inequality gained prominence in the late 1800s.
- Galton suggested that promoting the British elite might improve humanity. In his view, inferior people could survive and reproduce at higher rates than their superior counterparts in Britain’s affluent elite because of social institutions like welfare and mental hospitals.
- Galton’s theories never truly caught on in his nation, but they did well in America, where eugenics theories swiftly gained ground.
- In the United States, Eugenics developed into a well-liked societal movement that peaked in the 1920s and 1930s—pushed Eugenics in literature, movies, and local fairs and exhibits around the nation, where staged contests for “fitter families” and “better babies.”
- The American eugenics movement aimed to purge the population of unwanted characteristics. According to proponents of the eugenics movement, the easiest way to do this is to prevent “unfit” people from having children.
- More than 64,000 Americans, including immigrants, people of color, unmarried mothers, and the mentally challenged, were compelled to have sterilization procedures during the first half of the 20th century implemented as a result of legislation in 32 U.S. states.
- There have been flaws throughout American history. Some of our worst periods involve slavery, the destruction of Native Americans, and crimes committed throughout our many battles.
Nazi Germany
- One of the most prominent eugenicists in history, Adolf Hitler, used California’s forced sterilizations of the “feeble-minded” to model his racially discriminatory practices in Nazi Germany.
- Hitler started reading about Eugenics and social Darwinism while in prison after the Beer Hall Putsch, a failed coup attempt in 1924.
- Hitler followed the social Darwinist theory of the strongest survive. He thought that non-Aryans’ influence in Germany had caused the German Master race to become weak. Hitler believed that the ability to preserve the purity of its gene pool was essential to the survival of the German “Aryan” race.
- The Nazis sought to annihilate particular groups or races that they believed to be physiologically inferior. Jews, Roma (Gypsies), Poles, Soviets, those with impairments, and homosexuals were among these.
- Social Darwinist and eugenic theories had lost an appeal in the United States and much of Europe by the conclusion of World War II, partly because of their links to Nazi projects and propaganda and the fact that they were scientifically unsupported.
Criticism and Controversy
Multiple Incompatible Definitions
- There are several definitions of Social Darwinism, some of which conflict with one another. As a result, Social Darwinism has come under fire for being a contradictory theory that doesn’t produce any specific political implications.
Nazism, Eugenics, Imperialism, Fascism
- Social Darwinism was primarily observed in laissez-faire cultures, where the central belief was that society should have an individualist order.
- Nazism and other fascist movements have a variant version of social Darwinism as one of their core ideologies. This ideology promoted racial and national conflict where state-controlled human breeding through eugenics, not survival of the fittest within an individualist society.
- These viewpoints have been named “Darwinian collectivism” or “Reform Darwinism” to set them apart from the individualist variant of social Darwinism.
Peter Kropotkin and Mutual Aid
- In his work Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution, published in 1902, Peter Kropotkin stated that Darwin did not define the fittest as the most robust or intelligent but recognized that the most suitable might be those who collaborated. Many animal communities “replace strife with cooperation.”
- Anarchist Kropotkin explained how cooperation occurs in nature and that it must also have a function in natural selection. It is just social Darwinism because evolutionary biology is used to argue in favor of social cooperation.
- According to Kropotkin, the state is “unnatural” because it hinders the realization of anarcho-communism, which he believed to be the next step in the social evolution of humans. This view diverges from dialectical materialism despite certain similarities.
Fabianism
- In contrast, Fabians tried to use the state as a vehicle for implementing a collectivist social Darwinism in the early 1900s. The prevalent Fabian viewpoints of the period harmonized a particular brand of state socialism, the desire to eradicate poverty, and eugenics laws.
Social Darwinism Worksheets
This bundle contains 11 ready-to-use Social Darwinism Worksheets that are perfect for students who want to learn more about Social Darwinism which emerged in the late 19th and early 20th century. It is the theory that humans, like animals and plants, are subject to the same laws of natural selection and compete in a struggle for existence which results in “survival of the fittest”.
Download includes the following worksheets:
- Social Darwinism Facts
- Analyze It!
- Social Darwinism Word Search
- Who am I?
- Is It Social Darwinism?
- Adolf Hitler: Aryan Supremacy
- Two Sides of the Coin
- Social Darwinism in History
- The White Man’s Burden
- My Two Cents
- Poster Making
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Social Darwinism?
A broad range of views known as social Darwinism first appeared in the late 1800s. It has been argued that Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection supports specific political, social, or economic viewpoints.
What are evolution and natural selection?
Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection explained his observations of biological variety and why various kinds of plants and animals had diverse appearances.
How did the concept of the “Survival of the Fittest” used by Darwin and Herbert Spencer?
During the Industrial Revolution, the concept of “survival of the fittest” was used in the so-called laissez-faire or uncontrolled capitalism, in which enterprises were permitted to operate with minimal government supervision. In contrast to Darwin, Spencer thought that humans could genetically pass on acquired traits like morality and thrift to their offspring.
What is Eugenics?
The British academic Sir Francis Galton (a half-cousin of Darwin) developed a new “science” he dubbed Eugenics that sought to improve the human race by purging society of its “undesirables” as social Darwinist explanations of inequality gained prominence in the late 1800s.
What are the criticism and controversy of Social Darwinism?
Social Darwinism was primarily observed in laissez-faire cultures, where the central belief was that society should have an individualist order. Nazism and other fascist movements have a variant version of social Darwinism as one of their core ideologies. This ideology promoted racial and national conflict where state-controlled human breeding through eugenics, not survival of the fittest within an individualist society. These viewpoints have been named “Darwinian collectivism” or “Reform Darwinism” to set them apart from the individualist variant of social Darwinism.
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