Arguments in Favor of Social Darwinism.
Social Darwinism is the use of Darwin's theory of evolution on social problems of society. Many great thinkers of history used this theory as a scientific basis for human behavior. It was thought evolution explained and justified individual societal problems, and society as a whole.
In 1831 Charles Darwin was invited to sail on the Beagle to survey the east and west coast of South America. Though Darwin was doing mostly geological research, his interest turned to the living creatures of the area. The fossils and species he studied while on the Galapagos Islands showed a striking resemblance to the living animals of today, yet many had subtle differences from island to island. For example, Finches, a species of bird, had short beaks great for breaking seeds while others had long skinny beaks for digging bugs out of holes. From many other observations like this he made his theory of evolution stating that the creatures best suited to the environment would survive and produce the next generation whereas ones not suited would die because they couldn't compete. .
Herbert Spencer, the "father of social Darwinism", was a philosopher and scientist who developed his own theory, "the survival of the fittest". Spencer saw human society as an evolutionary process in which the wealthy and powerful were the fittest and better adapted to their environment, where the poor, deemed unfit, could not compete. Spencer believed that was not only right but it was natural. He felt the rich, (the strong); grow at the expense of the poor (the weak). Spencer, and many others, believed the arguments in Favor of Social Darwinism white Anglo-Saxons were the fittest since they were the most civilized and wealthiest of societies. They felt it was their duty to keep the race "pure".
Early Darwinist thought of the theory as a logical extension of laissez-faire capitalism. This justified big businesses in keeping low wages for their workers and refusal to acknowledge labor unions.
