Analyzing Social Darwinism and Racism: An Essay on Societal Impacts

This essay delves into the complex relationship between Social Darwinism and racism, examining how the concept of "survival of the fittest" has been used to justify discrimination and prejudice. It begins by defining Social Darwinism and tracing its origins, including its connection to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and the later interpretations by figures like Thomas Henry Huxley. The essay then explores the concept of natural law and its contrasting perspectives on human rights and societal structures. It argues that Social Darwinism, when applied to human societies, has fueled racist ideologies by creating a hierarchy where certain groups are deemed superior. The essay highlights how these theories have historically been used to justify various forms of oppression and discrimination. It further discusses how the concept of "survival of the fittest" has been misused to explain the elimination of various ethnic groups, and it underscores the ongoing relevance of these issues in contemporary society. The essay concludes by emphasizing the role of these concepts in shaping our understanding of racism and its consequences.

Running head: SOCIAL DARWINISM AND RACISM
Social Darwinism and Racism
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“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”
The above quoted lines of George Orwell in the book “The Animal Farm”, clearly
denote the kind of society that the modern man inhabits (Quinn, 2014). The term “Social
Darwinism” is often used by the various Sociologists as well as theorists to define the process
by means of which the intellectually, emotionally as well as the mentally fit individuals
survive over the weaklings in the society (Hodgson, 2014). Many people link the origin of the
term with Charles Darwin and his “On The origin of Species” (1859). However, recent
sociologist connect the term with Thomas Henry Huxley and Joseph Fischer, who is often
given the official credit for the coinage of the term in his review article on “The History of
Landholding in Ireland” (1877) (Hodgson, 2014). In the modern age, the term has undergone
radical transformations and diverse theorists use it for various purposes.
Natural law, can be defined as the philosophy, which asserts that there are certain
rights that the human beings inherit by virtue of their human nature (Rommen, 2012). The
philosophers argue that the human beings are endowed with these rights by virtue of their
nature, which is traditionally considered to be transcended by a transcendent source or the
Omnipotent God (Rommen, 2012). According to these philosophers, the natural laws are
universal and they are independent of the political order, state, legislature and for that matter
society (Rommen, 2012). According to another set of philosophers the natural laws can refer
to the use of thinking power or reason to access human nature in order to bring out binding
rules or guidelines of moral behavior from the aspects of God’s or nature’s creation of
mankind as well as reality (Hodgson, 2014). The concept of natural laws when related to the
concept of social Darwinism will reveal two points of importance to the philosophers as well
as the various sociologists. The first argument is that the human beings are not like the other
animals of the world whose sole motto is to look after the physical needs of their body. The
human beings, contrary to the concept of social Darwinism are rational as well as thinking

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creatures, who cannot just let the weaker sets of their population perish at the expense of the
stronger ones (Weingart et al., 2103). The second argument states the fact that contrary to the
idea propagated by the natural laws that the human beings are endowed with certain rights by
virtue of their beings, the human beings have earned that position by being the fittest among
the other sets of organisms that have inhabited the Earth ever since its creation by the process
of evolution (Weingart et al., 2103). The relation between the concepts of natural law and
social Darwinism does not surprise me as that is something, which we experience around
ourselves in our everyday life. It is be noted that our society when thoroughly analyzed is a
modeled on the these two theories itself.
Racism, can be defined, as the belief or the thinking process, which places one race or
ethnic group above the other. This results in the consequent processes of discrimination as
well as prejudice faced by the people belonging to some particular religious groups as well as
communities. The relation between racism and social Darwinism is an interesting one and
many people consider that the origin of the institution of racism had its roots in the concept of
social Darwinism. Darwin propounded that the concept of the “survival of the fittest” and the
extinction of the weaker sections of the population (Darwin, 2017). This concept when
applied to the concept of racism will reveal the fact the people who support the institution of
racism consider themselves to be fitter sections of the population and the people who face
racism are the weaker sections of the population.
The article tries to explain the issues the racism as well as the discrimination faced by
the individuals on the basis of the concept of social Darwinism as the theory propounded by
Charles Darwin in his book “On The Origin of Species”. The article clearly states that, “race
is not biological but still it is real”. This can be explain on the basis of the theory of “survival
of the fittest” propounded by Darwin in his book, which states that some people by being
more fit compared to the other entities of the population are superior to the weaker sections of

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the population (Darwin, 2017). Therefore, the blacks as well as other ethnic groups which are
not considered to be direct descendents of the Aryan race often face the cruel institution of
racism and its related evils. This theory is utilized by the various theorist to explain the
elimination of the various sections of the ethnic groups in comparison to the pure white races.
Therefore, from the above discussion it becomes clear that the concepts of natural law
as well as social Darwinism play an important role in the institution of racism faced by the
weaker sections of the populations. These concepts are utilized by the various theorists to
justify the institutions of racism as well as slavery. Therefore, the theory propounded by
Darwin, which states the concept of the “survival of the fittest” becomes very important in
this regard.

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References
Darwin, C. (2017). On the origin of species by means of natural selection. Litres.
Hodgson, G. M. (2014). Economics in the Shadows of Darwin and Marx. Edward Elgar
Publishing.
Quinn, E. (2014). Critical Companion to George Orwell. Infobase Publishing.
Rommen, H. A. (2012). The Natural Law. Liberty Fund.
Weingart, P., Mitchell, S. D., Richerson, P. J., & Maasen, S. (Eds.). (2013). Human by
nature: Between biology and the social sciences. Psychology Press.