Essay --

The concept of Social Darwinism was initially perceived in European culture in 1877 as a concept used by sociologists with Charles Darwin’s evolutionary theories providing justification for exploitation. Darwin’s theories provided that animals and plants evolved into different species undergoing a process of natural selection, and animals included humans that undergo the same natural selection process as animals. Darwin’s theories were applied to human society in the attempts to answer issues on why there are rich people and poor people, or why there are people who are dark-skinned and others lighter. Social Darwinism became the new tool of the 1800s to give justification for imperial conquest around the world. Christianity was the strong armor used by Europeans to justify their activities of territorial expansion wherein sacred missions such as the Crusades against Islam as well as the efforts to unify Germany, and the colonization of the New World were use d to cover the political and economic motivations of European imperialists. However, in the early part of the 19th century, the sacred mission of religion was no longer accepted as appropriate cover for Imperialism with the increased literacy in Europe through the Enlightenment movement which promoted the widespread use of reason. European imperialism made Great Britain to have control over great world regions dominating over the conquered peoples of their territories. The Europeans believed that the people of its colonies must be controlled over by the more intelligent Europeans and justified their control until Charles Darwin’s work of On the Origin of Species. This published work was highly opposed to by the church and the bible and was further perceived as an urge... ...oor, less successful, or to the disadvantaged minorities in society as such assistance would unnaturally promote the survival of these weaker groups of people and only allow them to reproduce and spread this defective genetics. Justifications for business practices supported by theories of laissez-faire systems were manifested in workers being overworked and underpaid. Practices of social Darwinism created a great gap between wealth and poverty. Social Darwinism as employed by the Europeans negatively affected natural processes of human social structures in social, political, and economic components to justify imperialism, racism, and capitalism. Charles Darwin may not have primarily extended his theories to human society, but European imperialists took advantage of his concept and for generations have unfortunately succeeded in today’s constant racism issues.