Social Darwinism was the emphasis on “survival of the fittest” (coined by Herbert Spencer). It was a philosophy used to help explain why some industrial companies survived and thrived in the tooth-and-claw environment but others failed. Andrew Carnegie was the only American business mogul who championed Social Darwinism and was “well-read” on the subject, however his understanding of the basic principals of Social Darwinism is called into question based on some of his essays. A man named William Graham Sumner, who was a chair in political economy at Yale University, was a purist when it came to laissez-faire and adamantly opposed protective tariffs that inflated prices of foreign goods sold in the US. His remarks and political stance alienated him from the very group he supported, the rich. In practice all business men supported protective tariffs, land grants and the like, except for when it would interfere with them making a profit. Only when they were threatened with higher taxes or regulations would they argue for survival of the fittest for the “natural laws”.
- How did the economic inequality and cut-throat business environment help to support the idea of Social Darwinism?
- The way Carnegie described his belief in Social Darwinism is written in terms usually reserved for religious experiences, so could it be said that Social Darwinism was a kind of religion, with it’s own values and belief system?
