Social Darwinism

Introduction

Social Darwinism is the idea that society evolves from a primitive to complex civilization. This is because those that are fit to survive live and those who are not fit to survive die, leaving only the fit. Society has no responsibility to help the weak because to help them would allow them to survive, which would interfere with evolution and weaken society. This idea of Social Darwinism was created by Herbert Spencer, by applying the biological concepts of Charles Darwin to society. Social Darwinism was used to justify many events which would be viewed as immoral today. During the Industrial Age, the government practiced the idea of Social Darwinism and was reluctant to provide support for those who were not capable of survival. Social Darwinism was the source for the lack of support by the government towards society's problems.

Discussion

During the dawn of the Industrial Revolution throughout the late 19th and early 20th century, there was an increase in the amount of corporations and factories being built in the United States. This was because of a great amount of new technology that was being created, such as the control of electricity, which increased the efficiency to get things done. This brought a wide variety of consumer goods and millions of additional jobs. Factories were in desperate need for employees who would work for very low wages to make this merchandise. Because there was an increase in the number of jobs available, people moved away from farms and towards cities. This brought a great number of people to the cities, however, cities had difficulty accommodating the increased numbers of people (Patterns of Urbanization). At that time, buildings could not extend above five stories due to the lacking elevator technology and the lack of ability to supply water above that height. Because of this, there was limited space and great amounts of crowding occurred, which forced large families to live is very small apartments together (Urbanization).

Cities were unhealthy places because of numerous contagious diseases, and the lack of sanitation. Jacob Riis, also known as the "Emancipator of the Slums", took many photographs of urban living conditions in New York City which were published into a book called "How the Other Half Lives" in 1890. He also found that in some tenements, the infant death rate was one in ten (Riis, Jacob). At this time, the government followed the Social Darwinism belief of survival of the fittest and didn't feel it was their duty to help the poor who lived in these slums. Since the government was reluctant to provide help for the poor, social reformers, such as Jane Addams, believed that they should provide education and opportunity for the poor. In 1889, Addams created the Hull House in Chicago, where she lived and worked among the poor. Addams set up a kindergarten, a day nursery, and an employment bureau for the poor (The Social Response to Industrialization). Even though social reformers were helping the poor survive, advocates of Social Darwinism argued that ...