survival of the fittest

noun

1. (not in technical use) natural selection.

2. a 19th-century concept of human society, inspired by the principle of natural selection, postulating that those who are eliminated in the struggle for existence are the unfit.

survival of the fittest

noun

1. a popular term for natural selection

Word History and Origins

Origin of survival of the fittest¹

First recorded in 1860–65

Idioms and Phrases

Those best adapted to particular conditions will succeed in the long run, as in They've had to close a dozen of their stores, but the ones in the western part of the state are doing well—it's the survival of the fittest. This phrase was invented by Herbert Spencer in Principles of Biology (1864) to describe Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection of living species. By the early 1900s it was being transferred to other areas.

Example Sentences

In necropolitics, governance is primarily viewed through a Social Darwinist lens of survival of the fittest, where certain populations and groups are deemed disposable by the punitive and punishing state.

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The “survival of the fittest” agenda permeates the cutbacks in food stamps, housing and heating assistance, which are based on beliefs about the “undeserving poor” — those who are supposedly lazy, or unmotivated, or greedy.

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On a more philosophical level, Klaas writes that it’s a “tragic mistake” to believe that “’survival of the fittest’ — with overtones of relentless, flawless optimization” fairly describes evolutionary principles.

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He told them: “I know that it's bad, but I just call it survival of the fittest”

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We’re in a game of survival of the fittest, where surviving itself feels akin to luxuriating in what should be hostile territory, mastering an environment we have come together to ravage.

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