Social Eugenics

"Social Darwinism" is an imaginative extension of Darwin's evolution from a genetic and reproductive field to the social field. It drowns the subtlety of the theory in a competitive savagery where certain unfortunates are destroyed by mindless social competition, usually by people with undeserved inherited wealth. The thesis, sort of a right makes right thesis, actually preceded Darwin in the writings of Herbert Spencer who felt that successful cultures, communities (and races) were successful because they were more fit and, by extension, superior. This, of course, could be the poster child for "the naturalistic fallacy." Spencer added Darwin on to his thesis as Darwin developed it.

It is interesting that Social Darwinism inspires animosity while, for example, a notion as crazy as dialectic materialism does not. The likely reason is that Social Darwinism does not allow for unifying principles and has racial translations while Dialectic Materialism's enemies are a smaller, successful, and a more enviable group.

There is a competing philosophy that also has surprising support: Social Eugenics. This philosophy believes that a beneficial, disinterested hand of power--i.e. government--can weed out social errors and reestablish the movement of society along the proper social path. This means the government should prune the social tree, encouraging some areas and discouraging others, as they try sometimes with companies and technology. They used to try this forced advance by literal eugenics, a great hope of early Progressives. Now they pursue their aims through legislation aimed at social lives. They can do this because they know the truth of life, the nature of man, the value and essence of groups, the evil in men's hearts. They are Conrad and Melville, Gregory the Great and Hume, Jefferson and Edward the Third, The Alpha and the Omega. Apparently they are cleverly disguised to look like Barney Frank, Biden, Obama, and a number of other nondescript political hacks who have never done anything in life other than advance in a small nitch for which they write the rules.