By Anthony G. Gelbert
IT'S THE SOCIAL DARWINISM, STUPID!
so·cial Dar·win·ism [ˈsōSHəl ˈdärwənˌizəm] NOUN
the theory that individuals, groups, and peoples are subject to the same Darwinian laws of natural selection as plants and animals. Now largely discredited, social Darwinism was advocated by Herbert Spencer and others in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and was used to justify political conservatism, imperialism, and racism and to discourage intervention and reform.
AGelbert NOTE: The above definition found in Bing is correct in everything but the part about Social Darwinism being "Now largely discredited".
If anything, it is more destructively widespread than ever. Social Darwnism is the ideological cornerstone of Capitalism! Capitalism certainly hasn't "been discredited", but instead, has increased its
pernicious (i.e. having a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or subtle way) influence on the fabric of human society.
"Capitalist ideology claims that the world is perfectly ordered and everybody is in their place (i.e. everybody gets what they deserve). This self legitmating aspect of Capitalism is Socially Catastrophic. This is the Victorian view of the world." Rob Urie - Author " Zen Economics
In the above quote, Capitalist ideology is equated with the
Victorian worldview. The problem for readers is that most people, especially my fellow
Socialists, associate the Victorian worldview with "Christianity". This 'common wisdom' (used too often among Socialists to make Christianity the whipping boy) is an erroneous assumption. The fact is that the Victorian worldview was Orwellian (before Orwell!), in the extreme, because it claimed to be "Christian" when,
in practice, it was Social Darwinism, the antithesis of Christianity.
For those who claim that "
Capitalism" is NOT "Social Darwinism", and
'I should not try to associate the morally bankrupt ideology of Social Darwism with Capitalism, which is only problematic for society when taken to extremes', please remember that exploiting the labor of other humans for profit, an integral part of the Capitalist's
modus operandi, is NOT the MAIN goal of a Capitalist.
The fundamental goal of every Capitalist true believer is to eliminate the competition in order to corner the market, thus guaranteeing price setting dictatorship which results in
continually increasing the amount of Capital. This is
socially destructive. WHY? Because, as more and more Capital is concentrated in fewer and fewer hands, more and
more misery results in more and more humans. To the Capitalist, this is exactly the way it should be. That is why anyone who cares to look at what Capitalism REALLY means to the Capitalist worldview will see that
there isn't a dime's worth of difference between the ideology of a Capitalist and that of a Social Darwinist. Capitalist ideology
militates against altruistic behavior because it is a profit reducing "weakness".
There is NO invisible hand "benefiting" (see: Orwell) society; there is only the "invisible" hand benefit (i.e. profit) for the
self-interested (i.e.
egocentric)
individual, no matter what the cost to the
community (
there ALWAYS is a cost, NOT a benefit, to the community when an individual profits at the expense of others). A
no holds barred "fiduciary responsibility" to bankrupt the competition is
integral (necessary to make a whole complete; essential or fundamental) to Capitalism.
To clearly see the
Social Darwinist rot in Capitalism, you simply need to understand that every Capitalist (see: "Apex Predator") sees himself or herself as a 🦍
self-interested individual,
NOT a
member of the community,
duty-bound (
i.e. morally or legally obliged to do something) to
preserve and protect the welfare of his or her community.
Read the following and tell me if it doesn't fit EXACTLY with the Capitalist ideology dominating the USA today: Social Darwinists believe that ethics based principles are 'limitations pretending to be virtues'. To them, ethics are 'feel good illusions' that humans invented to pretend our species has empathy. To Social Darwinists, empathy is irrefutable evidence of inexcusable weakness. To them, all who are guided by ethics are deluded fools that should be eliminated from the human 'apex predator' gene pool for the "good" of our species.
Enthusiastic converts to
Social Darwinism have, to this day, used the language of evolution to frame an understanding of the growing gulf between the rich and the poor, as well as the many differences between cultures all over the world. The explanation they arrived at, and continue to use to justify biosphere trashing profit over people and planet, regardless of any alligator tear filled mendacious claims to the contrary, is that businessmen and others who are economically and socially successful are so because they are biologically and socially “naturally” the fittest. 🙄🤔
Conversely they reason that the poor are “naturally” weak and unfit and it would be an error to allow the weak of the species to continue to breed. 😨
The 😈
money lenders have played a key role in funding this deceit propagated in high schools and universities, where it is passed off as "the Capitalist
fiduciary duty of corporations to make a profit above ANY OTHER CONSIDERATION, be it the health and wellbeing of employees or the environment". It is, and always was,
legerdemain formulated by the monied elite to
dress up selfish, abusive, exploitative and cruel behavior towards "less important" humans and/or animals experimented upon in research labs, as "scientifically justified".
📢 Not only is Social Darwinism
NOT scientifically justified in ANY way, shape or form, if we do not vigorously 🗽 act to make 🕊️ ethical 🌞 behavior
sine qua non in our schools, businesses and all other everyday social activities and practices, AND take 🗽 punitive measures to permanently remove the socially, AND ☠️ environmentally, catastrophic influence of 💰😈🎩 Social Darwinists through 🗽 fines and/or prison, things will only get 💩 worse. 😬😵😱
Here are some quotes by erudite ✨ writers that clearly expose the pernicious Social Darwinist ROT destroying the fabric of our society:"The American idea, meanwhile — descended from slavery — was just the opposite: only the strong should survive, and the weak should perish. Therefore, nobody deserved anything at all — even the basics — because human life had no inherent or intrinsic worth. Only the strong deserved such things — and they were the ones who could dominate and exploit and control everyone else." -- Umair Haque
"Trump’s failure to go strong with masking, “lockdowns,” and invocation of the Defense Production Act (to order the mass manufacture of medical supplies) reflected not only his desire to keep the economy going (ironically enough since failure to undertake proper public health measures deepened the economic impact of the virus) for his re-election but also his rejection of science and his racist, Social Darwinian, and pre-genocidal approval of how COVID-19 especially killed the old, the infirm, the poor, and the nonwhite and how the virus initially targeted big multiracial urban and Democratic areas." -- Paul Street February 7, 2021
Agelbert NOTE: "
Free-dumb", as described below by Paul Street, is indistinguishable from
Social Darwinism in action:
"America became obsessed with free-dumb: the idea of freedom as the removal of all restraint, the right to harm others, the ability to do anything you please, no matter how destructive, toxic, foolish, or inane. Americans — in the vast, vast majority — think of freedom in a way that by now the rest of the rich world and much of the poor one regards as dangerously backwards. Freedom is the right not to ever have to cooperate, to invest, to act for the common wealth or common good. Why is America the only rich society in the world that doesn’t have effectively any public goods? No functioning healthcare, retirement, higher education, and so forth? Because of free-dumb. “I won’t pay for their healthcare, education, retirement!!” Why not? “They’re weak! They’re liabilities and burdens!! They cost me money!!” But wait, don’t you understand that means you won’t have those very same things yourself — because such social institutions are for everyone? “I don’t care! I won’t reward weakness and laziness! Such people need to be punished! And I should be free not to have support the weak!”" -- Paul Street February 7, 2021
"Environmental decline is a threat to the everyone. If people conceived of themselves as members of this community, rather than as self-interested individuals, then ending environmental decline might take precedence over individual self-realization. Before dismissing this formulation as utopian, we, the people, do constitute the community that is threatened by environmental decline. The social tension here isn’t between individual and group interests. It is between people who understand themselves to be members of a community and those who don’t. While granting differences by class on the road to environmental Armageddon, ‘we’ are the community that will be ☠️ annihilated. In this sense individualism is the ultimate authoritarian conceit." -- Rob Urie February 12, 2021
"Look at our world, our country, our interactions with each other… … this is not the mark of a healthy society, and if these are the self-appointed leaders of this flaming meteor… ... it’s time to move on... ... Let’s relegate these fools to history. They perpetuate a narrative that it is right to behave in a strictly selfish, exploitative manner towards all. We simply can’t survive it any longer. Things will change because they have to -- Kathleen Wallace
So then, do you agree that human society MUST
embrace Ethical Behavior as the indispensable condition (
sine qua non) in order to survive,
and overcome, the
onslaught of Social Darwinism?
If not, you can stop reading now.
If so, please read on. All
people of good will who truly want to change things for the better should ponder the words below, of
Spiros Zodhiates, seriously, prudently leaving aside preconcieved (i.e. formed before having the evidence for its truth or usefulness) notions of the Gospel of Luke. Ethical behavior is not optional for people of good will, whether they be Socialists or not. And,
if you are a devotee of Greek Classical Literature, you will certainly find this interesting. Spiros Zodhiates,Th.D, wrote the folllowing introduction to the Gospel of Luke in the 1988 edition of the Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible. Notice the contrast of the behavior of Jesus with what the "modern" Social Darwinist (See; "Apex Predators") empathy rejecting, morally bankrupt, "might equals right" worshipping ideology:
"The Most Beautiful Book Ever Written"
The Gospel of Luke portrays Jesus as the long awaited Messiah of the Jews and also the Savior of all mankind. Special emphasis is placed upon the kindness of Jesus toward women, the poor, the outcasts, the weak, and those who were suffering in different ways. In addition, the book is filled with expressions of praise and prayer. Luke's account had a universal appeal, aspecially to the Gentiles. Jesus is presented as the perfect Man who is truly interested in every person on earth, no matter what his station in life.
Luke was aimed at the Greek mind, and therefore had to be written in a comprehensive, logical, and orderly manner. There are portions of the book which approach Classical Greek Literature. Luke has been called "the most beautiful book ever written."
There is little doubt that the author was Luke, the "beloved physician" (Col. 4:14). From the context of this passage we learn that Luke was "not of the circumcision" and, consequently, he may have been the only Gentile writer of the New Testament.
Paul refers to him as his "fellow worker" in Philemon 24. Several pasages indicate that he was a close companion to the Apostle during the missionary journys of the book of Acts.
He was with Paul until the very end (II Tim. 4:11). Judging fom the style of his Greek, we surmise that he was the most cultured of all the writers of the Gospel.