Darwinian Applications to Contemporary Society

by Nathaniel Murphy A few months ago, I was presented with a gift from a friend of mine whom I had met on a train ride from Richmond to my hometown of Savannah. It was not originally intended to be given away, but as our discussion of socioeconomics and politics progressed he told me that his present would yield many intellectual benefits and that I must accept it. It was a book recently published in England entitled On the Origin of Species by a man named Charles Darwin. From what my compatriot told me, it was unlike anything the world had ever seen. It contained extensive detailed studies and conclusions resulting from years of rigorous research that discussed how humanity came to be, as well as all living things on earth. I was interested in the subject of Darwins work until my friend revealed that he was an atheist and claimed that Darwin had successfully disproven Creationism. By the time we arrived in Savannah, I politely bade him farewell and, upon my return to my plantation, placed the book upon a shelf in my private study and thought nothing of it. It was not until I found myself void of activities a few weeks later that I finally opened the book. I was not willing to reject the almighty Word of the Lord God for some mans study by any means. However, there are concepts within Darwins work that I feel not only apply to the animal kingdom, but to us humans as well. Let us refer to this application as Social Darwinism. According the world of science, humans are animals. But we are also defined on a much more specific level than that. The biological classification of humans is Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Chordata, Class: Mammalia, Order: Primates, Family: Hominidae, Tribe: Hominini, Genus: Homo, and lastly, Species: Homo Sapien. It can be assumed by this classification of human beings that we must abide by the laws of nature. The order by which God has established the living organisms on this planet is very precise. Some may argue that humans do not abide by these laws. But, in fact, we do so very much and extremely well. Darwins theory proves this order immensely. One of the key Darwinian principles is known as survival of the fittest. We see this all the time in the animal kingdom. I witnessed it in Africa on my journey to acquire strong, able-bodied natives who could handle the work to be done on my plantation. I witnessed it amongst the water buffalo, knocking horns against one another to establish their superiority. I observed it within a group of antelopes; the weakest and slowest was pounced and consumed by three cheetahs. However, until studying Darwins theory, I had never really been able to translate it to life here on the Western Hemisphere. I, as a Southern Democratic plantation owner, am a wealthy man. In our society, we compete for wealth, rank, fame, etc. Biological fitness is measured by an organisms ability to produce healthy offspring. Societal fitness is measured by a mans capabilities of sustaining a family and/or business as well as having a name for oneself in the community. It is also measured by a mans monetary worth. In the ecosystem of humanity, there are species that are more fit than others through natural selection. Many of us whites are more prone to social fitness due to the circumstances we are born into. The blacks, however, are unfit, for they do not have and did not earn the means to prosper like we have. Their kind did not reproduce in such a manner to where their kind can fit properly amongst the Anglo-Saxon race. Survival of the fittest is what governs nature; therefore it must be valid amongst humans. Let us delve into a more scientific level, rather than simply observational. According to Darwin, humanity descended from apes by means of evolution. What area of the world comes to mind when one thinks of apes? Most might say Africa, so let us direct our focus there. If humans descended from apes, and apes reside in Africa, then it is only logical to assume that humanity descended from Africa. We know from the work of archaeologists that civilization originated in the Middle East. This means that the Homo sapiens in Africa were uncivilized. Civilization began to prosper as it spread further throughout the world away from its roots. Therefore, it can be said that the Anglo-Saxons are the most superior and the negroes are most inferior. My people embody survival of the fittest due to natural selection. We have become the strongest, most self-sufficient type of human being simply because we have naturally progressed to the level we are at in this moment in time.

When one approaches Social Darwinism from this perspective, it sheds a whole new type of light on the matter. Darwin certainly revolutionized the world of science through his work, yes. But, he also has presented a purely logical and scientific system of support for the class system that governs modern human civilization. Survival of the fittest, natural selection, and evolution all come into play when discussing the issue of racial roles in society. Social Darwinism is simply a contemporary application of an important law of nature.