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The other offshoot of unbridled individualism is the belief in social darwinism. I say this as no fan of the French: If American intellectuals, from Bible Belt
by eevilspock 11y ago
The other offshoot of unbridled individualism is the belief in social darwinism.
I say this as no fan of the French: If American intellectuals, from Bible Belt "personal responsibility" types to Silicon Valley libertarians[1], don't reverse their deep social darwinist convictions, it will soon be "American thought once dazzled the world. Where did it go wrong?"
(and no amount of down-voting will prevent that.)
[1] where "meritocracy" is often code for social darwanism.
- ArkyBeagle 11y agoSocial Darwinism was an error of Spencer's, but the world was a billiard-ball, Determinist world then. So the end position of a particle must be determined by it's initial direction and velocity. Malthus was strikingly similar but different. Nobody's actually a Social Darwinist now. There's just the Conservative "barbarians are at the gate" thing and too much emphasis on fame. To forgive Spencer, you should at least read Social Statics. :)