The Pros And Cons Of Social Darwinism

Social Darwinism was a philosophy created by Charles Darwin. Charles Darwin’s philosophy connected the theory of evolution within humanity. Many people were against Social Darwinism, simply because of the fact it veered from the Christian belief that god created everything on earth. There were people out there who believed in Social Darwinism and were intrigued to learn more. Both sides of the argument were able to justify their reasoning on why they either agreed or disagreed on Social Darwinism. This philosophy caused many problems in society and schools. The wealthy were becoming even wealthier and the poor were getting poorer. This was the cause of Social Darwinism. In the nineteenth century most people followed what they had known …show more content…
“Opponents of social Darwinism insisted that it was a callous, dog-eat-dog philosophy that weakened the patriotic bonds among Americans, fomented class conflict and threatened to undermine civilization itself,” (Bodenner). Unlike businessmen the nonbelievers thought it was in the societies best interest to help the poor. Because of Social Darwinism business leaders lowered wages to make themselves wealthier and the factory worker more poor. “Wealthy industrialists were often called "robber barons," implying that they used questionable or illegal business practices to become rich,” (Bodenner). The critics of Social Darwinism believed humans could make their own decisions and this would lead to their destiny. Unlike the people who believed in Social Darwinism, the one who did not believe stated people were poor because “their family or socioeconomic backgrounds, not their genes or their race,” (Bodenner). They backed this up by saying people had no choice of their circumstances at birth so it was unfair to try and kill their kind. By the government helping the poor, the opponents of Social Darwinism believed it would keep the crime rate down and make the world a better place. They also believed if the government gave help to the poor it would “lower the possibility of class uprising,” (Bodenner). The government was supposed to be the safety for all the people living under it; with Social Darwinism they were providing fear to the poor. While the poor had no choice what class they were brought up in they could still try to work more and get more money, but they would need the help of the government to get on their feet. With Social Darwinism they could not do this because many people were against them and wanted them to