Darwinian Ideas

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the ideas presented by Spencer, Sumner, and Ward in terms of plugging Darwin's evolutionary concepts and theories into late 19th century American society. It offers the opinion that Spencer had the greater influence on the future of American thought and social values.

From the Paper:

"William Graham Sumner - who was, according to the Journal of Libertarian Studies, a "pioneering sociologist" and "astute historian of the early American republic" - critiqued democracy in 20th Century as "plutocratic, paternalistic, and imperialist" (Trask, 2004). He saw the western nation-states as "too geographically extensive, populous, and diverse" to ever achieve democracy; he saw the "great mass" of Europeans and Americans as "incapable of self-government"; and further, he believed the "plutocrats in America" would become imperialistic and "warlike, and would gradually extend paternal protections to the masses."

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