Social Darwinism
E1405
Social Darwinism is a 19th-century social theory that applied Charles Darwin’s ideas of natural selection to human societies, often to justify economic inequality, competition, and laissez-faire capitalism.
Aliases (2)
Statements (50)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
19th-century social theory
→
ideology → social theory → |
| appliesConceptOf |
natural selection
→
struggle for existence → survival of the fittest → |
| associatedWithConcept |
biological determinism
→
blaming the poor for poverty → competition between groups → competition between individuals → competition between nations → meritocratic explanations of wealth → racial hierarchy → |
| basedOnIdeasOf |
Charles Darwin
→
|
| criticizedBy |
Christian social thinkers
→
modern biologists → progressive reformers → socialists → |
| criticizedFor |
ethical implications
→
justifying exploitation → misapplying biological theory to society → scientific racism → |
| emergedInCentury |
19th century
→
|
| emergedInContextOf |
industrial capitalism
→
laissez-faire economics → |
| hasKeyConcept |
fitness defined as economic success
→
social selection → |
| hasKeyProponent |
Herbert Spencer
→
William Graham Sumner → |
| influencedBy |
Darwinism
→
Herbert Spencer’s philosophy → Thomas Malthus’s population theory → |
| notEndorsedBy |
Charles Darwin
→
|
| popularInCountry |
Germany
→
United Kingdom → United States → |
| popularInPeriod |
early 20th century
→
late 19th century → |
| relatedTo |
eugenics movement
→
imperialist ideology → laissez-faire capitalism → scientific racism → |
| usedToJustify |
class hierarchy
→
colonialism → economic inequality → eugenics → imperialism → laissez-faire capitalism → minimal state intervention → social inequality → |
Referenced by (8)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
Age of Imperialism
→
Age of Imperialism ("White Man's Burden ideology") → The Forgotten Man ("social Darwinism") → The Gospel of Wealth → |
influencedBy |
|
Ernst Haeckel
("social Darwinism")
→
Herbert Spencer ("social Darwinism") → William Graham Sumner → |
movement |
|
Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution
("social Darwinism")
→
|
subject |