Social Darwinism

or so·cial Dar·win·ism

[ soh-shuhl dahr-wuh-niz-uhm ]

noun

, Sociology.

1. a 19th-century theory, inspired by Darwinism, by which the social order is accounted as the product of natural selection of those persons best suited to existing living conditions and in accord with which a position of laissez-faire is advocated.

social Darwinism

1. A theory arising in the late nineteenth century that the laws of evolution , which Charles Darwin had observed in nature, also apply to society. Social Darwinists argued that social progress resulted from conflicts in which the fittest or best adapted individuals, or entire societies, would prevail. It gave rise to the slogan “survival of the fittest.”

Other Words From

• So·cial Dar·win·ist so·cial Dar·win·ist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of Social Darwinism¹

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

Similar arguments were in fact used this way in the unlamented days of Social Darwinism.

From Nautilus

But in our past there has been another term for it - Social Darwinism, every man and woman for him or herself.

From The Daily Beast

Our Constitution, Holmes famously wrote, does not enact social Darwinism.

From The Daily Beast