Are the rich & powerful more fit & deserving than the poor? FWD
Tom Boland (wgcp@earthlink.net)
Thu, 22 Oct 1998 18:13:11 -0400
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The short article below defines Social Darwinism's basic premise as this:
"Wealthy and powerful people have attained their status because they are
smarter and more socially 'fit' than poor people."
How would you reply to such an argument? -- Tom
http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/edits/seang.htm
FWD Cape Cod Times [Massachusetts]: News, October 20, 1998
SILLY THOUGHTS AND GOOD THOUGHTS
by Sean Gonsalves
Thought (sometimes) precedes action. Therefore, ideas and concepts are very
important.
There is an idea in public currency today that is used to defend and
justify our present plutocratic social order - a global village with
increasing wealth and power disparities.
This dangerous and harmful concept you might call the
survival-of-the-fittest idea.
Sociologists call it social Darwinism - an ideology popularized back in the
19th century by a prominent intellectual named Herbert Spencer who wanted
to "prove" the superiority of the "white" race.
Not many educated people today subscribe to the intellectually ridiculous
and morally repugnant theory of a racial caste system, but every now and
then, new life is breathed into the concept by verbose fools with Ph.D's
who get a lot of media attention. The authors of "The Bell Curve," for
example.
Social Darwinism has become much more sophisticated but the basic premise
remains the same: Wealthy and powerful people have attained their status
because they are smarter and more socially "fit" than poor people. "Only
the strong survive" is their motto
So it follows, they argue, the "underclass" is less fit for survival and
therefore should not survive. Well, that's a little extreme. Perhaps the
poor should survive, but they ought to be the object of ridicule and scorn
because of their lack of initiative and stupidity etc., etc.
It's a very useful idea for those who champion unfettered capitalism
because, if life is a survival-of-the-fittest contest, then to aid the
downtrodden is not only a waste of time it is an act against "nature"!
This survival-of-the-fittest idea is supposedly based on Charles Darwin's
theory of natural selection. Unfortunately, our social Darwinian brothers
and sisters are very confused about natural selection. In fact, they are so
confused they are not making the fundamental distinction between natural
selection and artificial selection. This is a result of pseudo-scientific
and illogical thinking.
Social Darwinists assume that people - being creatures of nature - are in
fundamental conflict with one another and at the same time are trying to
preserve their existence. Thomas Hobbes, one of the most influential
political theorists in Western civilization, called it "the war of all
against all" - failing to note the spirit of cooperation that can be found
in nature. Bee- and ant-life, for example. (Might collaboration and
cooperation be the "natural order" of things and violent competition be an
aberration?)
Fortunately, natural selection does not quite work the way social
Darwinists fantasize, which evidently has not convinced them to adopt a
more reasonable philosophy.
Since I am not a scientist, I would like to quote one of America's leading
Darwin experts, Harvard professor Stephen Jay Gould: "Darwin's independent
criterion of fitness is, indeed, 'improved design,' but not 'improved' in
the cosmic sense. To Darwin, improved meant only 'better designed for an
immediate, local environment' - hair on a mammoth is not progressive in any
cosmic sense. Natural selection can produce a trend that tempts us to think
of more general progress...(but) Darwin delighted in showing that local
adaptation often produced 'degeneration' in design."
The remarks of Syracuse physics professor Erich Harth are also helpful: "If
the history of evolution now appears to have led us toward a goal, this is
entirely illusory. Evolution, biologists like to point out, does not
progress, it drifts. It does not seek better and better life forms, but
merely adjusts to the ever-changing conditions in the environment (emphasis
mine)" - an environment that we create.
The funny thing about the survival-of-the-fittest ideology is that many
Christians, especially evolution-denying fundamentalists, adhere to its
principles - in spite of the many scriptures that would contradict such a
social philosophy, i.e. Proverbs 14:31: "He that oppresseth the poor
reproacheth his Maker, but he that honoreth Him hath mercy on the poor."
Apparently the argument for inequality is very seductive and extremely
deceptive, even to people who claim to have a "personal relationship" with
the Truth, the Life and the Way.
But let's turn away from harmful ideas and reflect on helpful ones. And
while we're on the subject of the Bible, we can connect a good idea with a
much-loved Psalm.
"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the
stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him?
And the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little
lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor," King
David reflected.
Did you know that the very same life-giving stuff that's in stars can also
be found in our bodies? That's more than a nice thought. It's scientific
truth!
But don't take my word for any of this. Go check it out for yourself - even
if social Darwinism says you're "stupid" and "lazy." You're still a star.
Sean Gonsalves is a Cape Cod Times staff writer and a syndicated columnist.
He can be reached at (508) 862-1266.
END FORWARD
** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. **
HOMELESS PEOPLE'S NETWORK <http://aspin.asu.edu/hpn/> Home Page
ARCHIVES <http://aspin.asu.edu/hpn/archives.html> read posts to HPN
TO JOIN <http://aspin.asu.edu/hpn/join.html> or email Tom <wgcp@earthlink.net>
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<fontfamily><param>Geneva</param><bigger>The short article below
defines Social Darwinism's basic premise as this:
<bold>"Wealthy and powerful people have attained their status because
they are smarter and more socially 'fit' than poor people."
</bold>How would you reply to such an argument? -- Tom
http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/edits/seang.htm
FWD Cape Cod Times [Massachusetts]: News, October 20, 1998
<paraindent><param>right,left</param><bold>SILLY THOUGHTS AND GOOD
THOUGHTS
by Sean Gonsalves
</bold></paraindent><bold>
</bold>Thought (sometimes) precedes action. Therefore, ideas and
concepts are very important.
There is an idea in public currency today that is used to defend and
justify our present plutocratic social order - a global village with
increasing wealth and power disparities.
This dangerous and harmful concept you might call the
survival-of-the-fittest idea.
Sociologists call it social Darwinism - an ideology popularized back in
the 19th century by a prominent intellectual named Herbert Spencer who
wanted to "prove" the superiority of the "white" race.
Not many educated people today subscribe to the intellectually
ridiculous and morally repugnant theory of a racial caste system, but
every now and then, new life is breathed into the concept by verbose
fools with Ph.D's who get a lot of media attention. The authors of "The
Bell Curve," for example.
Social Darwinism has become much more sophisticated but the basic
premise remains the same: Wealthy and powerful people have attained
their status because they are smarter and more socially "fit" than poor
people. "Only the strong survive" is their motto
So it follows, they argue, the "underclass" is less fit for survival
and therefore should not survive. Well, that's a little extreme.
Perhaps the poor should survive, but they ought to be the object of
ridicule and scorn because of their lack of initiative and stupidity
etc., etc.
It's a very useful idea for those who champion unfettered capitalism
because, if life is a survival-of-the-fittest contest, then to aid the
downtrodden is not only a waste of time it is an act against "nature"!
This survival-of-the-fittest idea is supposedly based on Charles
Darwin's theory of natural selection. Unfortunately, our social
Darwinian brothers and sisters are very confused about natural
selection. In fact, they are so confused they are not making the
fundamental distinction between natural selection and artificial
selection. This is a result of pseudo-scientific and illogical
thinking.
Social Darwinists assume that people - being creatures of nature - are
in fundamental conflict with one another and at the same time are
trying to preserve their existence. Thomas Hobbes, one of the most
influential political theorists in Western civilization, called it "the
war of all against all" - failing to note the spirit of cooperation
that can be found in nature. Bee- and ant-life, for example. (Might
collaboration and cooperation be the "natural order" of things and
violent competition be an aberration?)
Fortunately, natural selection does not quite work the way social
Darwinists fantasize, which evidently has not convinced them to adopt a
more reasonable philosophy.
Since I am not a scientist, I would like to quote one of America's
leading Darwin experts, Harvard professor Stephen Jay Gould: "Darwin's
independent criterion of fitness is, indeed, 'improved design,' but not
'improved' in the cosmic sense. To Darwin, improved meant only 'better
designed for an immediate, local environment' - hair on a mammoth is
not progressive in any cosmic sense. Natural selection can produce a
trend that tempts us to think of more general progress...(but) Darwin
delighted in showing that local adaptation often produced
'degeneration' in design."
The remarks of Syracuse physics professor Erich Harth are also helpful:
"If the history of evolution now appears to have led us toward a goal,
this is entirely illusory. Evolution, biologists like to point out,
does not progress, it drifts. It does not seek better and better life
forms, but merely adjusts to the ever-changing conditions in the
environment (emphasis mine)" - an environment that we create.
The funny thing about the survival-of-the-fittest ideology is that many
Christians, especially evolution-denying fundamentalists, adhere to its
principles - in spite of the many scriptures that would contradict such
a social philosophy, i.e. Proverbs 14:31: "He that oppresseth the poor
reproacheth his Maker, but he that honoreth Him hath mercy on the
poor."
Apparently the argument for inequality is very seductive and extremely
deceptive, even to people who claim to have a "personal relationship"
with the Truth, the Life and the Way.
But let's turn away from harmful ideas and reflect on helpful ones. And
while we're on the subject of the Bible, we can connect a good idea
with a much-loved Psalm.
"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the
stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of
him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him
a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and
honor," King David reflected.
Did you know that the very same life-giving stuff that's in stars can
also be found in our bodies? That's more than a nice thought. It's
scientific truth!
But don't take my word for any of this. Go check it out for yourself -
even if social Darwinism says you're "stupid" and "lazy." You're still
a star.
Sean Gonsalves is a Cape Cod Times staff writer and a syndicated
columnist. He can be reached at (508) 862-1266.
END FORWARD</bigger></fontfamily>
** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. **
HOMELESS PEOPLE'S NETWORK <<http://aspin.asu.edu/hpn/> Home Page
ARCHIVES <<http://aspin.asu.edu/hpn/archives.html> read posts to HPN
TO JOIN <<http://aspin.asu.edu/hpn/join.html> or email Tom <<wgcp@earthlink.net>
--============_-1303028097==_ma============--