Socialism More Beneficial than Social Darwinism

698 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: industrial revolution on society

The ideas of Social Darwinism and Socialism were first theorized by those in the age of

industrialization, when the gap between the social classes was continuing to grow. Social

Darwinism is a philosophy that was taken off of the theory of Darwinism in two aspects

that were applied to society. One, survival of the fittest. Those who succeeded in life

were the ones who were “fit”, in addition, those who failed were left to be weeded out,

Secondly, the idea of natural selection as applied to society. Social Darwinism in our

capitalist society compares wealth with fitness, but historically, these unregulated

markets are not truly beneficial to both social classes, as there are always those who own

less wealth or are physically or mentally handicapped. The Darwinistic economic idea

was most ideal for those already possessing much wealth. Social Darwinism was also

most popular with the wealthy social class because it gave industrialists a way to justify

the huge gap between rich and poor. It was a fabrication to go along with the idea that

those who work the hardest in life succeed, while deceivingly the wealthy were able to

spend their time in leisure, forcing the poor to do their work for them.

Laissez-Faire, was the approach the industrialists wanted the government to

undergo. Going along with the idea that the government was not to interfere with the free

enterprise, capitalistic way of America, the government left the economy unregulated,

keeping a “ha...

Show More
Related

  • Analogical Teleological Argument

    1173 Words  | 3 Pages

    Paley’s claims that the universe must have an intelligent maker due to the complexity of its design. His primary

    Read More

  • Evolution and The Island of Doctor Moreau

    1421 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are a lot of misconceptions about Darwin's theory of evolution. One of the biggest is that he called the theory by that name. Albrecht von Haller used the word "evolution" in 1744 to mean "to unroll," so the word was around in Darwin's time, but Darwin never used it in the sense we use it today. It was added later by others, including Herbert Spencer, who is responsible for the theory we call Social Darwinism. This theory is misnamed; it is not based on Darwin's work, but Spencer's.

    Read More

  • Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection and Social Darwinism

    2626 Words  | 6 Pages

    Its influence has even extended into realms other than biology and science. An entire method of looking at and interpreting society has come into being partly from the ideas of Darwin. This methodology is known as social darwinism. One can trace the roots of this idea all the way back to the time of Darwin and his contemporaries, and proponents of the theory remain strong even today. Social darwinism has shown its influence in many ways throughout history and is seen to be just as controversial as Darwinian evolution.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Lying In Blackburn's Being Good

    731 Words  | 2 Pages

    Philosopher Immanuel Kant has a completely different perspective on the moral righteousness of lying. Kant believes it is unethical and sinful to lie no matter what situation presents itself. “Kant finds it especially offensive, contrasting the ‘dim, moles’ eyes fixed on experience’ with the ‘eyes belonging to a being that was made to stand erect and look at the heavens’. Kant believes in the ideology of promise keeping and if you break your promise, it is considered

    Read More

  • l

    1639 Words  | 4 Pages

    ii) Hard Incompatibilism: A theory that suggests that free will is untrue and that we are living in a deterministic universe.

    Read More

  • Creationism in Public School Science Class

    932 Words  | 2 Pages

    "AAAS Board Resolution on Intelligent Design Theory." AAAS. N.p., 2002. Web. 7 Nov 2010. .

    Read More

  • Immanuel Kant's Lying: Right Or Wrong?

    450 Words  | 1 Pages

    Kant’s assertion that one must tell the truth no matter the consequences comes from the moral principle of the categorical imperative. Categorical imperatives are absolute commands that we ought to follow, period. Kant believed that lying fell under

    Read More

  • Pathophysiology of Sepsis Inflammatory Response

    987 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to the Clinical Excellence Commission (2014), approximately 6,000 deaths per annum are caused by sepsis in Australia alone. These mortality figures are higher than breast cancer (2,864) and prostate cancer (3,235) combined (Cancer Australia, 2014). Despite advances in modern medicine and increased understanding of the need for timely recognition and intervention (Dellinger et al, 2013), sepsis remains the primary cause of death from infection worldwide (McClelland, 2014). Studies undertaken by The Sepsis Alliance (2014) and Schmidt et al, (2014) state that 40% of patients diagnosed with severe sepsis do not survive.

    Read More

  • Virtue Ethics And Virtue Ethics

    1687 Words  | 4 Pages

    The right to lie predisposes the society to a place where an individual can lie in order to achieve his/her own desires while in complete disregard to other people’s interest. The Kantian principle seeks to ensure that people are treated respectfully as independent, rational, and moral beings. Through such kind of treatment, a person’s sense of dignity is respected and valued, which is an essential element of personhood. The right to lie violates the Kantian principle through deny a person the rational, moral, and independent choice of his/her essential personhood. Therefore, the right to lie should be denied in order to ensure that people are not treated as means of accomplishing some personal goals and desires at the expense of

    Read More

  • What It Takes to Become a Success: Outliers

    1041 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gladwell demonstrates that hard work does not get people to high places but a series of opportunities and other factors will. What people have grown up to think about hard work is not true and it is demonstrated through these various examples. People will not be able to succeed, practice, and master their skills without opportunities, timing, devotion, and moral support. There is no such thing as “rags to riches” because those people would not be rich unless they had opportunities in their life. Remember that with out these key factors, people will never be able to succeed.

    Read More

  • Social Darwinism, the Gospel of Wealth, and the Gilded Age

    649 Words  | 2 Pages

    Social Darwinism is a late 19th century term used to describe the application of British naturalist Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection to social and political conditions. Late 19th century sociologist Herbert Spencer tried to capture the essence of social Darwinism with his phrase “survival of the fittest”. This essentially meant that the strong would rise to the top while the weak simply died out. Social Darwinists eschew social responsibility and compassion, instead believing that some people are more fit to survive than others. Many social Darwinists advocated that the government should maintain a laissez-faire, or hands off, approach when it came to regulating economic competition and alleviating social inequalities. Social Darwinism was used to justify the consolidation of the majority of wealth by a minority of Americans. The term allowed people to rationalize capitalism, imperialism, racism, and even eugenics. The wealthy believed in social Darwinism because it allowed them to justify their oppressive business tactics and low wages for their labor force. Politicians believed in it because it allowed them to justify imperialism, or expansion of the nation. Affluent Anglo-Saxons believed in social Darwinism, believing themselves to be the superior race, and used it to justify ...

    Read More

  • Thre Views of Social Darwinism

    1702 Words  | 4 Pages

    The concept of Social Darwinism was a widely accepted theory in the nineteenth-century. Various intellectual, and political figures from each side of the political spectrum grasped the theory and interpreted it in various ways. In this paper, we will discuss three different nineteenth-century thinkers and their conception of Social Darwinism. The conservative, Heinrich von Treitschke, and liberal Herbert Spencer both gave arguments on the usefulness of competition between people on a global scale. The anarchist, Peter Kropotkin, refuted the belief of constant competition among members of the same species and emphasized mutual aid.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Immanuel Kant's Categorical Imperative

    1796 Words  | 4 Pages

    One may concede that if a person lies to another on the premise of a selfish goal where they are the only person who receives benefits, such as a person who borrows money without the intent of returning it, as in Kant’s example in section 4:22, they are effectively treating that other person strictly as a means to some other end, and therefore defying the second formulation which dictates that others should not be viewed purely as a means to other ends. However, as with the first formulation, there is the possibility for lying to admit of degrees and take the form of an imperfect duty. If one supposes that lying to another could be beneficial, as in a case where a small, permissible lie may boost one’s confidence and therefore chances of success, or similarly when promising insincerely may cause someone to go out and gain valuable life experience they would not have gained otherwise, the lie has the potential to prevent harm, but to actually breed positive consequences. In such a case, lying could again be seen as an imperfect duty, unlike the perfect duty insisted by Kant, and should not only avoid blame, but be celebrated as it is helping another

    Read More

  • Essay On Sepsis

    1506 Words  | 4 Pages

    Sepsis is a life threating health condition and if not treated early can lead to shock, multiple organ failure and death (Ho, 2012). The main study of which practice has been based world-wide is the Surviving Sepsis Campaign. The Surviving Sepsis Campaign was developed to create evidence-based management guidelines. The Surviving Sepsis Campaign completed this by using an educational program to implement the guidelines by integrating their recommendations into resuscitation and management bundles (Marik, 2011). The first Surviving Sepsis Campaign Guidelines were published in Critical Care Medicine in 2004 with an updated version published in 2008 with the core of the recommendation's remained largely unchanged (Ahrens, 2011).

    Read More

  • Socialism - The Best Economic System

    1465 Words  | 3 Pages

    Today, more than ever, there is great debate over politics and which economic system works the best. How needs and wants should be allocated, and who should do the allocating, is one of the most highly debated topics in our current society. Be it communist dictators defending a command economy, free market conservatives defending a market economy, or European liberals defending socialism, everyone has an opinion. While all systems have flaws and merits, it must be decided which system is the best for all citizens. When looking at both the financial well being of all citizens, it is clear that market economies fall short on ensuring that the basic needs of all citizens are met. If one looks at liberty and individual freedom, it is evident that command economies tend to oppress their citizens. Therefore, socialism, which allows for basic needs to be met and personal freedoms to be upheld, is the best economic system for all of a country’s citizens.

    Read More

More about Socialism More Beneficial than Social Darwinism

Open Document