America 1865
Describe the Social Darwinist Movement. Can community be constituted as a jungle? Does social Darwinism influence us today? If so how?
Social Darwinist movement is the classification of persons, races and groups to the same laws of natural selection. This move were very popular between the 19th and the 20th centuries, whereby the minorities were reduced and their cultures were also depleted. Meanwhile the majorities grew and were in total control of political posts, and they also had cultural influences over the minorities. The social Darwinists believed that human beings lives in the society were full of struggle in order to exist. Different social Darwinists that is, Walter Bagehot and William Gram believed that due to the process of natural selection which acted on discrepancies in the population could lead to the existence of the best contestants in the population (Boyer, 56). This consequently meant that, in order to be able to survive in the world, one need to be able to work hard. Thus the best competitors were able to live peacefully and to be in total control of the others. People therefore need to work hard in order to be able to live peacefully in the world without any problems at all.
The community can be constituted as the jungle, simply because, people in the community need to struggle in order to be able to live peacefully. The same applies in the jungle whereby the strongest animal dominates over the other animals, and thus it has total control over the jungle. The weak animals become the subject of the strongest animals, thus they need to obey whatever the strongest animal wants. Furthermore, in the community the minorities tend to be the subject of the majorities and thus they end up adapting to the dictates of the majority who have the total control of the world (Boyer, 56). Moreover, the minorities in the jungle become less strong and thus they cannot be able to protect themselves, thus they end up being distinct. This distinction in the jungle is the same as the absorption of the majorities’ culture by the minority. This consequently means that, the culture of the minority becomes distinct since the minorities are influenced by the culture of the majority in the society. The jungle is therefore the real representation of the society, as it clearly shows what really happens in the community.
Social Darwinism really influences us today to work hard in order to be able to lead bright lives in future. The world is full of ups and downs, and thus in order for one to be able to avoid challenges, his or she needs to work hard, hence being able to take control of the world. On the other hand, in order for one to be able to avoid to be a subject of another person, he or she will also need to work hard. According to Social Darwinism, life is just like a competition and the best competitors tend to take the top positions (Boyer, 57). This consequently means that to be able to live in the world, on needs to set his goals and be able to work in order to achieve them. This will really help in ensuring that one does not end up being another person’s subject. Finally, Social Darwinism influences us to work hard in order to avoid being ruled by others.
Work Cited
Boyer, Paul S. The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People. Boston: Wadsworth, 2013. Print.
