Darwinism, Social

Background

The English philosopher Herbert Spencer (1820–1903) in the years before Darwin's fame developed a theory of social evolution whereby the best form of society is one where individualism prevails. Spencer, not Darwin, coined the phrase “survival of the fittest,” and he applied this concept to human beings and societies, not just to particular plant and animal species. For humans to prevail in nature, the society must be as strong as it can be; this leaves no room for weak members. If this theory is descriptive, it observes that this is the state of nature and attempts to explain what happens on its own. Spencer, however, used the theory prescriptively; that is, he endorsed the application of eliminating the weakest links as a theory of ethics. What is morally right, in this view, is what advances the species as a whole. Society is strengthened when composed of the strongest individuals. Those too weak to fend for themselves, those who suffer from illness or disability, even those who find themselves in disadvantaged social circumstances such as poverty would best serve humankind if left behind. Spencer extended this principle to a liberalist political view that valued the rights of individuals over government power. He was influenced by the French philosopher Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744–1829), who proposed that environmentally inspired human traits were transferred from parents to children during their own lifetimes through the theory he called the “inheritance of acquired traits.”

Most noted for his support of social contract theory, English philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) similarly emphasized the importance of the individual. For Hobbes, human beings are naturally self-interested. Every action and decision is based upon what will ultimately serve the best interests of the [Page 698]individual. Society is a collection of individuals who agree to give up some of their personal rights and liberties in order to benefit all individuals within the group. In agreeing to abide by social laws, each citizen agrees to a “contract.” In addition, Hobbes proposed that without government, humans would compete against one another in a brutal “state of nature” not unlike the struggle Social Darwinists claim to be natural. Hobbes was rebuffed by French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778), who asserted that good and bad behavior are both attributable to one's civilization, an emphasis of nurture over nature that would present itself again over the next centuries. Spencer nevertheless recognized the self-interested human nature that Hobbes observed but placed it in evolutionary terms. The most effective contract would be with oneself and representative of those interests to the point of disregarding the weaker members of society. Spencer believed that this is the way of nature: that the strong will survive through competition and by disregarding, rather than helping, the weak.

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