Social Darwinism is the theory of the evolution of society. It gets its name because it is based on Darwinism, which is the theory of evolution developed by Charles Darwin (1808-1882), in the 19th century.
This social study was developed between the 19th and 20th centuries by the English philosopher Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), who before Darwin thought about the theme of evolution.
Meaning of Darwinism
Social Darwinism believes in the premise of the existence of societies superior to others.
In this condition, those who excel physically and intellectually must and end up becoming the rulers.
On the other hand, the others - less able - would cease to exist because they were not able to follow the evolutionary line of society.
Thus, they would go extinct following the principle of natural selection of the Theory of Evolution.
See also:DarwinismSocial Darwinism and Racism
By virtue of being a theory that considers society to be a superior race and an inferior race - the so-called racial superiority, social Darwinism - which is also based on nationalist ideals - consists of prejudiced and racist thinking.
Thus, he believed that if Europeans were such good rulers, that fact was due to their race being superior to the others.
In the same way, the monopoly of trade accompanied by scientific and technological progress was a reflection of the people capable of this situation.
Meanwhile, the countries that were limited in the supply of labor would be the inferior, the least able.
See also:racismExamples of Social Darwinism
In addition to the European situations mentioned above, we highlight as an example of the theory of Herbert Spencer Nazism and Fascism.
In Germany, the Nazi movement had as its dogma the superiority of the Aryan race and resulted in the extermination of thousands of people, especially Jews, in the well-known holocaust.
In Italy, the imperialist political system called fascism had as one of its main characteristics racism when preaching the premise of purification, since the mixture of races was considered a contamination.
Social Darwinism in Brazil
The presence of Social Darwinism is revealed in the racism in Brazil, which has its origins in the time of colonization.
Although Brazilians do not admit it, most of them discriminate against blacks. The result of this behavior is revealed in statistics that show, for example, that a large part of the poor population in Brazil is black.
Neocolonialism and Imperialism
Social Darwinism still has a place in neocolonialism or imperialism (not in the old models, but in contemporary imperialism).
It is a policy of expansion and political and economic domination and is the result of the exploitation of colonized countries, due to the industrial demand of emerging powers.
Thus, the purpose of social Darwinism was corroborated by the process of political and economic domination and legitimation of emerging powers, the so-called neocolonialism.
As a consequence, the conquest of peoples took place, which conveyed the idea of benefit to the conquered people.
Thus, they would be led by people capable of transforming and progressing their people. This gave the conqueror his superiority, since the superior nations had the mission of “civilizing” the inferior ones.
See also:Imperialism and ColonialismEugenics
Eugenics also addresses the issue of human evolution as a factor of social control.
It was created by Francis Galton (1822-1911), who believed that genetic improvement was a determinant of racial quality both physically and mentally.