On the Origin of Species

Late in Darwin’s lifetime (and beyond), natural selection theory was used in various unscientific and, in many cases, socially problematic ways. As early as 1864, just five years after the publication of On the Origin of Species, Herbert Spencer, an English biologist and philosopher, coined the phrase “survival of the fittest”—which, contrary to popular opinion, Darwin never used. The application of natural selection theory, especially the concept “survival of the fittest,” in the social, political, cultural, and economic affairs of modern human society became known as “Social Darwinism.”

Some proponents of Social Darwinism—now widely considered a pseudoscientific misappropriation of natural selection—used it to justify laissez-faire capitalism, fascism, slavery, racism, bigotry, and even genocide. Social Darwinism in its economic form was especially prevalent in the US and embraced a deregulated form of ruthless capitalist competition that, among other things, almost entirely eliminated protections for workers and minimized government intervention and regulation. Vast economic inequalities between ultra-wealthy elites and the masses were justified, either through bad-faith argument or a misunderstanding of scientific theory. To a Social Darwinist, the rich earned their wealth through better fitness to the environment, and lack of wealth was a natural consequence of inferior fitness. Thus, Social Darwinism encouraged a hands-off, amoral approach to political economy. This viewpoint was common among elite industry tycoons (or “robber barons”) in the US.

Another social ideology, eugenics, enjoyed a resurgence in the late 19th century, partly because of the social application of natural selection theory. Eugenics combines natural selection theory with genetics to consciously “improve” the quality of the average human being. In essence, eugenics was a breeding program that pseudoscientific ideologues used to promote a worldview of racial superiority or to breed supposed defects, disabilities, and abnormalities out of existence. Eugenics was often tied to forced sterilization programs and played a significant role in the Nazis’ justification for the Holocaust. The Nazis’ program became a model for eugenics projects in other countries around the globe, including China, Japan, Germany, and the US. In some instances, as with the Nazis and the Ottoman Empire’s “Young Turks,” Social Darwinism was even used to justify genocide.

Despite the moral catastrophes associated with Social Darwinism, no individual application or political or economic movement can sum up this appropriation of natural selection theory. Some proponents, like Russian anarchist Peter Kropotkin, take the view that social animals, like human beings, are actually “most fit,” and therefore most likely to be selected for, if they cooperate rather than compete. Richard Dawkins, in his introduction to this edition of Origin of Species, notes that “survival of the fittest” is tautological (xxvi). Individuals who survive are by definition the most fit: To survive is to be fit. Therefore, Social Darwinism, which (in all its forms) posits a particular kind of individual as most fit, misrepresents the scientific concept of evolution if it diverges in any way from the truth of who does, in fact, survive.

Darwin’s views on the social application of natural selection theory are ambiguous, though his personal objection to slavery, a common practice during his lifetime (and one that he saw firsthand during his voyage on the Beagle), indicates that he would likely oppose the more virulent, racist strains of Social Darwinism. In his subsequent work The Descent of Man, he indicates support for forms of human love and kinship that build relationships and community attachment. However, he does so based on descriptive, scientific accounts of their usefulness for individual human success—i.e., natural selection—rather than explicit philosophical or moral value judgment.