Social Darwinism is the belief that the individual is more powerful than society. It encourages a ruthless system of self-interest and intolerant treatment of others. Those who believe in Social Darwinism believe that the society is inferior to the needs of the individual. Often those who believe in Social Darwinism are racist and believe that the white origin is the superior race of society. Social Darwinism is the opposite of socialism.
Socialists believe that society comes before the individual while those who follow Social Darwinism believe the individual comes before society. However, Social Darwinism has been incorporated into the belief of socialism mainly with the fact that people believe that they can rise about the “natural law” and through planning they can create the perfect society. They believe that they can live their lives in a utopian society. Socialism believes in government intervention to control the means of production. Therefore, the state controls the production within the country and control the direction, which the country goes.
Liberalism took the aspect of survival of the fittest into its beliefs. In a liberal economy, the individuals control the means of production so that there is a choice in what to purchase. Libera lists believe that the marketplace follows a natural cycle of supply and demand and therefore the government should not interfere. This With this system, products that do not sell are dropped in favor of more useful goods. Consumer sovereignty is the key factor in this society. This same approach was taken towards the poor.
The Essay on Charles Darwin Social Darwinism
Charles Darwin, a 19 th century biologist believed in a theory of survival of the fittest. The theory of Darwinism says that whoever is best fit for their surroundings will survive. This theory was used to explain how animals came about and survive and brought about the theory of evolution. Darwin s theory was applied by many 19 th Century thinkers to economic, political, and social philosophies ...
Liberals believed that others should not be able to leech off those who worked hard and contributed to society. The church and other volunteer organizations should have provide help. A liberal society thinks that those who work hard and are motivated should be rewarded while those who are lazy should be punished. The beliefs of liberalism tie into those of Social Darwinism because once again the needs of the individual are more important than those of society. The aspect that relates to conservatism to Social Darwinism is the aspect of a certain class or group of people to be superior to any other group which is considered to be inferior. Conservatists believed that only the upper class and the church should provide leadership.
They felt that the ideas of individual political, social or economic equality were ridiculous. One could not legislate a country without receiving any complaint from anyone. Thus the strongest in a society should survive. Conservatism ties into Social Darwinism because of the belief that certain groups of people are superior to everyone else in society.
For example, Conservatists believe that the upper class of people in the country should be the dominating force while in Social Darwinism they believe that the white race is the superior race and that all other races were inferior.
