On the Origin of Species

In his On the Origin of Species, written in 1859, Charles Darwin clearly explained the gradual progression toward the speciation of organisms with his five main principles: variation, inheritance, competition, selection, and propagation. Darwin hesitated to publish his findings because he understood that his findings were based on the animal kingdom and on an evolutionary process that had to have spanned millennia. He specifically did not think that his discoveries were applicable to the evolution of human society. Contrary to Darwin’s preference, Herbert Spencer did exactly what Darwin hoped to avoid by publishing numerous works supporting his own, new thesis of “Social Darwinism,” which claimed that Darwin’s principles of evolution directly applied to the formation of human societies. Although Spencer’s application of Darwinian evolutionary ideas was specifically not what Darwin intended, it was an unavoidable consequence of the nature of Darwin’s discoveries paired with the unique upbringing of Spencer. Although there was legitimate opposition to the theory, Social Darwinism became popular during the late 19th century because it justified the growing social inequality in England, the United States, and throughout Europe.

Herbert Spencer introduced the seeds of Social Darwinism in 1857 with his second published article on social evolution, Progress: its Law and Cause. In it, he proposed that the “law of organic progress is the law of all progress” and that this “progress” — of simple to complex— existed throughout the development of all aspects of society—government, manufacturing, language, literature, science, art, and more. He then subtly recalled Darwin’s five principles of evolution by relating them to the development of a ...

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...e existed between societies, not individuals. He also believed that we should not accept social injustices, rather we should work to correct them. Pyotor Kropotkin, a Russian prince, attempted to negate the philosophies of Social Darwinism. In his travels to Siberia, he witnessed mutual aid rather than competition. From his travels he learned that conflict was not between individuals to survive but between individuals and nature.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, Social Darwinism was a theory that captivated the world and caused a lot of harm. After being proposed by Spencer, it was heavily debated by contemporary intellectuals and scholars. Ultimately it became popular because it justified economic inequality and explained why the poor remain poor and the rich stay rich. Social Darwinism was a destructive theory that created pain that continues to be felt today.