Social Darwinism

American  

[soh-shuhl dahr-wuh-niz-uhm] / ˈsoʊ ʃəl ˈdɑr wəˌnɪz əm /

Or social Darwinism

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.

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social Darwinism Cultural  

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.”

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Other Word Forms

• Social Darwinist noun
• social Darwinist noun

Etymology

Origin of Social Darwinism

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

Social Darwinism was a bad idea in the 1900s.

From Salon

Growing up in a world ruled by social media and social Darwinism — and an older generation’s cluelessness as to what that entails — does, however, form a background to the narrative, such as it is, along with exchanges on the meaning of masculinity and the distorting power of teenage self-image.

From Los Angeles Times

Neo-Malthusian refers to the concepts of economist Thomas Malthus, who argued against human overpopulation in the 18th century; social Darwinism is a misapplication of biologist Charles Darwin’s evolutionary theory to validate conservative social hierarchies.

From Salon

“Though eugenics were once fashionable in the Commanding Heights and High Court, they hold less purchase after the conflict, carnage, and casualties of the last century revealed the bloody consequences of social Darwinism practiced by would-be Übermenschen,” Kacsmaryk wrote in the ruling.

From Washington Post

Still, to argue that Lochner provided the judicial underpinnings for an era of social Darwinism, as many of its critics have contended, was grossly unfair, according to Mr. Bernstein, the George Mason professor.

From New York Times