Kyle Lascano Sociology Chapter 1 Journal In the early 1800’s, two men planted the seeds that would later burgeon in to a heavily debated study about a perfect society. Herbert Spencer coined the idea of Social Darwinism. In a society as such, the theory of evolution plays a big role. Survival of the fittest is the main idea here.
SAQ #1 One governmental practice during this era was siding with and supporting corporations in most issues. For example, the creation of the ICC was done with intent to regulate economic activity, but its structure only allowed action to be taken in court, where corporations almost always won. This caused growing animosity between farmers and railroad corporations, because farmers felt they were still being cheated. The idea of “social darwinism” contributed to the battle between labor and management, because it claimed that those who were meant to succeed would, and those unfit for the competitive world would fail.
Individuals are thought to be frail and excessively poor, making it impossible to bear the cost of transport. They are also thought to be hereditarily inferior but they are compelled to leave in light of their fear of contamination.
Social Darwinism is the application of Darwinism to the study of human society, specifically a theory in sociology that individual or groups achieve advantage over others as the result of genetic/biological superiority. Social Darwinism was introduced by Herbert Spencer, a british philosopher. He wrote about how certain traits certain groups of humans had made them better than other groups. He used that as a reason why the French, Spanish, and British had the right to go into “savage” countries and “take care” of the “biologically inferior”. This mentality was one of the main reason the United States went to war with
This way of thinking is present by Zachary Freeman in Real Poverty Doesn’t Exist in America explaining “If you can’t survive the heat, you die. That’s poverty.”. Background to this Freeman is stating the living conditions of a sugar cane village that is adjacent to the Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Freeman relates back to this village explaining a common thought by some individuals of America: Poverty in America and the state of people’s health in poverty is a blessing compared to people in poverty of lower placed countries. With this he presents the question of what should be prioritized by the people and implies that the government should not give as many handouts.
But it’s important not to judge the people who are living in conditions that seem terrifying to you because you don’t know what they’ve been through, nor you know what caused them to be in this situation. Poverty is not always a personal choice, but a reflection of society. Difficult circumstances causes people to end up being poor, even if it’s not in their control. People are in poverty because they find themselves in holes in the economic system that deliver the inadequate income.
Social Darwinism and the Social Gospel Movement are contrasting systems of belief. Social Darwinism suggests that people are in the social or financial state that they deserve. This appealed to the work ethic that anyone could do well if they worked hard enough. For some, this was a source of inspiration to work hard to excel.
Cecil Rhodes was a successful business man who supported the idea of imperialism and British expansion. During the time, Charles Darwin had introduced his theory of Social Darwinism. The theory stated that the wealthy and successful people were the most likely to survive. It also said that non-European countries were on a lower scale due to the fact that they had not yet made the same scientific and technological advancements. This theory brought forth the belief that the European nations were superior to other nations who had not yet reached their height of power with the Industrial Revolution.
They are unwilling to follow standards set by society, and make damaging conscious decisions such as using drugs or committing crimes. Rutger Bregman of “The Correspondent” illustrates more valid examples about the lower class, stating how they are usually the last to sign up for money management training and “when responding to job ads, the poor often write the worst applications and show up at interviews in the least professional attire” (Bregman 1). Although this might be true, the impacting cognitive effects from an impoverished upbringing can explain these behaviors. For the lower class, resting is a luxury and they are often exhausted by how much they have to work in order to pay the bills. The Atlantic states how “poverty 's stress interferes with our ability to make good decisions... because the short-term needs are so great and the long-term gains so implausible” (Thompson 1).
In ancient Rome during the time that the Colosseum was in use, a person was chosen to fight for their life based on their social status (History.com). In the early times of the Colosseum the people that were brought to fight in front of the audience of were slaves and criminals (History.com). These people would be forced to murder other slaves or criminals in an attempt to save their own life because the were thought of as lesser in the eyes of Rome. A secondary example of social Darwinism that is present in society today is Isis. Isis is a terrorist group located in Syria that believes everybody should believe in Islam, and if a person doesn’t they should be killed (Stream).
The beliefs it focus on were the Individualistic and Structuralist views. Individualistic beliefs emphasize the importance of negative personal traits such as laziness and simplemindedness as the main factors that lead to poverty. On the other hand, structuralist beliefs emphasize that the poor are “trapped” in poverty as their condition is the result of factors that they cannot control, such as social background or discrimination. Similar beliefs have been found in the case of Hispanics, although their increasing assimilation with whites has determined an increase in their tendency to explain inequality as the result of lack of motivation, or to take the individualistic approach. Simultaneously a decline has occurred in their ability to associate inequality with discrimination.
But no theories where as popular with the Nazis as Hebert Spencer’s Social Darwinism theory and Sir Francis Galton’s Eugenics theory. Social Darwinism is defined as “..study of human society, specifically a theory in sociology that
In the late 19th Century a term called Social Darwinism was created to express the idea that humans, like plants and animals, compete in existence. Started by Herbert Spencer and other sociologist’s in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and was used to show justification for Racism, Imperialism, and to discourage intervention from the government. Social darwinists supports laissez-faire capitalism were the government leaves the people alone regarding all economic activities. Social Darwinism originated from Britain during the later part of the 19th century where scientist Charles Darwin created his theory of natural selection however he only applied this to plants and animals. it was Herbert Spencer who applied the theory to people.
Eugenics is the science of using artificial selection to improve genetic features of the population. It is thought that improvement of the human race can be seen through sterilization of people who exhibit undesirable traits and selective breeding. Often called Social Darwinism, the concept was widely accepted during the time of World War I. It quickly became a taboo after World War II when Nazi Germany used it as an excuse for genocide. The thought of improving the human race by manipulating who is allowed to breed can either be appalling or compelling.
People are said to be impoverished if they cannot keep up with standard of living as determined by society. Moreover, it changes over time. As the wealth of a society increases, so does the amount of income
