Racism and the Modern World

Paper Summary:

This paper presents the topic of racism as the world developed from the turn of the century, through two world wars, and into the modern and developed Western world today. The paper begins with a reference to Charles Darwin's theory of "Natural Selection" or "Survival of the Fittest" and uses this to explain how racism came about. The writer then mentions Hitler's form of racism as possibly the greatest example of the extent of racism in the 20th century. The writer connects the two theories of Darwin and Hitler as subscribing to the superiority of one race over any other.

From the Paper:

"Charles Darwin was the first person to propose the theory of "natural selection" and "Survival of the fittest" by which he explained the inner workings of nature to either help sustain or eliminate a species. According to the theory it is the design of nature to sustain the healthy and the strong so that best of species survive to create a stronger progeny. The theory of evolution explains the alteration in characteristics of species over a period of time to survive the adverse conditions. Darwin's theory of survival of the fittest has been much espoused by political leaders and it has been used extensively to support and explain their colonial and imperialistic tendencies. Even some religious leaders used Darwin's theory to explain racial and religious superiority. The writings of Josiah Strong, the protestant reformer of the ninetieth century clearly echoes his belief of the superiority of the Anglo Saxon race."

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