The Theory Of Social Darwinism - 1345 Words

The presidential elections are upon us once again, debate has been a common place to hear plans and deduce ideologies of various candidates. Income inequalities has been one hot topic and address by almost all the candidates. Some believe a higher tax rate on the rich is the solution whiles others believe it will do more harm to the society good. I ask myself, should Mr. Herbert Spencer, Minister Graham Sumner, and Andrew Carnegie come back to life, what will be their response? The aforementioned are the considered the fathers of Social Darwinism. In this essay I will discuss and evaluate the theory of Social Darwinism. Social Darwinism, a theory that supposed that humans are subject to Darwin’s law of evolution just like all other species†¦show more content†¦The Chief Chef being Mr. Herbert Spencer and owing it rise and popularization – especially in The United States – to the highly influential Yale Chair of political and social science, Minister William Graham Sumner. Sumner once said. â€Å"Let it be understood that we cannot go outside this alternative: liberty, inequality, survival of the fittest; not-liberty, equality, survival of the unfittest.† He claims â€Å"The former carries society forward and favors all its best members; the latter carries society downwards and favors all its worst members.† (VAROUS, 2009) This statement epitomize the thinking or ideals of a Social Darwinian and it will also form the basis for most of my discussion and evaluation. Adam Smith’s classical economies theories being one of the major ingredients in the Social Darwinian theory, meant they were strong proponents of Hands â€Å"off† Laissez-faire. They advocated restricted government intervention and or meddling with the economy, they believed in individual self-interest and competition and opposed the taxation and regulation of commerce. Taxation to a Social Darwinian was just a robbery of resources from the producer to the non-producer and for that matter not a good practice. The state or society they believe in should be built on â€Å"contract†. Contract they