RE: Social Darwinism: Right or Wrong
November 9, 2012 at 3:36 pm
(This post was last modified: November 9, 2012 at 3:40 pm by Simon Moon.)
Social Darwinism has been discredited in many ways, some of which stems from a misunderstanding of biological evolution. Biological evolution does not operate on the the basis of cut-throat competition in humans. It operates on the basis that the community, not the individual is the unit of human survival.
Survival of the fittest in humans does not mean the most aggressive, cut-throat, selfish individual will help the species survive. Humans survived as a species due to cooperation, altruism, kin selection, etc.
It's funny that social Darwinism was used from the late 19th century to support laissez-faire capitalism and political conservatism. It's only the right-winger politicians and corporatists, who grabbed onto Social Darwinism a long time ago, as a justification for their personal greed and ruthlessness, who haven't yet gotten the message that it isn't really the way things are. Paul Ryan's budget is the most social Darwinist document in recent years.
Survival of the fittest in humans does not mean the most aggressive, cut-throat, selfish individual will help the species survive. Humans survived as a species due to cooperation, altruism, kin selection, etc.
It's funny that social Darwinism was used from the late 19th century to support laissez-faire capitalism and political conservatism. It's only the right-winger politicians and corporatists, who grabbed onto Social Darwinism a long time ago, as a justification for their personal greed and ruthlessness, who haven't yet gotten the message that it isn't really the way things are. Paul Ryan's budget is the most social Darwinist document in recent years.
You'd believe if you just opened your heart" is a terrible argument for religion. It's basically saying, "If you bias yourself enough, you can convince yourself that this is true." If religion were true, people wouldn't need faith to believe it -- it would be supported by good evidence.
