Social Darwinism in European and American thought, 1860-1945 : nature as model and nature as threat

This wide-ranging study focuses upon the controversies surrounding the meaning and significance of Social Darwinism. It clarifies the nature of Social Darwinism and its relationship to the ideas of Darwin, Lamarck and Herbert Spencer. After examining the development of Social Darwinist theories by a number of European and American thinkers, Mike Hawkins explores the use of these theories in a number of ideological debates and movements of the period 1860–1945. These include socio-political reform, national and racial conflict, eugenics, the position of women and Nazism/Fascism. The aim is to illuminate, through detailed comparative analyses, both the flexibility and the limits of Social Darwinism - limits which derive from the view of nature which lies at the very heart of Social Darwinism. The study concludes with a discussion of modern sociobiology in order to assess the continuing vitality of Social Darwinism. This study focuses upon the controversies surrounding the meaning and significance of social Darwinism. It clarifies the nature of social Darwinism and its relationship to the ideas of Darwin, Lamarck and Herbert Spencer. After examining the development of social Darwinist theories by a number of European and American thinkers, the author explores the use of these theories in a number of ideological debates and movements of the period 1860-1945. These include socio-political reform, national and racial conflict, eugenics, the position of women and Nazism/Fascism. The aim is to illuminate, through detailed comparative analyses, both the flexibility and the limits of social Darwinism - limits which derive from the view of nature which lies at the very heart of social Darwinism. The study concludes with a discussion of modern sociobiology in order to assess the continuing vitality of social Darwinism This original and wide-ranging study clarifies the meaning of Social Darwinism and demonstrates its relevance through a study of European and American social and political thinkers. It is the only study of Social Darwinism that combines the study of individual thinkers with the distinctive ideological themes (e.g., eugenics) and does so in a comprehensive historical and comparative framework. A wide spectrum of academic readers will enjoy Dr. Hawkins' lucid and subtle analysis and find it a useful guide through a difficult and complex subject. A world view, then, consists of a relatively abstract set of background assumptions which supply overall coherence to the ideology.

An analysis of the ideological influence of Social Darwinists in Europe and America.