November 7, 2024

Bringing The Work of Darwin To Places He Never Desired It To Be: Social Darwinism

Charles Darwin, known for his infamous theory of natural selection, spent a five year voyage upon the HMS Beagle,  during which he surveyed the ocean for Britain. Darwin was given the role of supernumerary, meaning he would lead the charge in creating detailed hydrographic surveys around the coast of South America, and returning via Tahiti and Australia. While this experience is known to be a large factor in his drive for biological research, it also stuck with him morally. During his time in South America, Darwin experienced horrific incidents of slavery, revolts and torture. His political ideas drove him towards the process of natural selection, whole-heartedly believing in the equality of all animals, in that we all come from common ancestors. However, Darwin’s work has been corrupted and utilized as a rationale for what would have been his worst nightmare, justifying racism and eugenics. After his death, Darwin’s scientific theories were utilized for evil intentions in the backing of Social Darwinism, fueling the movement for Eugenics, forced sterilizations in Sweden and the creation of a “master race” under the Nazi regime.

During the later half of the 1800s, in ironic fashion social Darwinist ideologies came to fruition through the British scholar Francis Galton, who happened to be Darwin’s half-cousin. He invented the term/science of “eugenics”, a movement aimed at progression of the human race by labeling certain people as inferior. His ideologies pushed for removal of mental asylums and welfare in order to halt the reproductions of those associated, and consideration of various levels of intelligence, height,  and appearance. While his ideas never gained much support in Britain, the United States quickly jumped on board. The Eugenics Record Office was established in 1910, and compulsory sterilization laws were put into effect, leading to approximately 350,000 forced sterilizations. Many of these were conducted on the backing of a disability,  some include mental disabilities, or socially disadvantaged groups. Along with this, other discriminatory laws were put into place, such as the banning or marriage between with epilepsy or who were “feeble-minded” in Connecticut. Darwin’s science brought forth a horrific era in the United States, later showing prevalence in the Euthanasia Crimes of the Nazi Regime and going against all that he’d hoped for with his research.

Head of the Nazi Regime Adolf Hitler extensively used Eugenics as a backing for the genocide being conducted, referencing American eugenics in his book Mein Kampf.  The crimes against humanity included the euthanizing of many with disabilities, and horrific testing on people. Josef Mengele, Nazi scientist and part of a newly founded Institute for Hereditary Biology and study of Eugenics, put many through torture, attempting to change eye color to blue, injecting many with diseases and preforming these acts without anesthesia. The Nazi’s labeled many different groups as inferior in their idea of Eugenics, sending troops to seek out Jews, gypsies, people with disabilities, homosexuals and more. The Nazi’s used Darwin’s humane reform-driven ideology to accomplish the opposite, backing their desire for a racial hierarchy.

Thankfully, the ideologies of Eugenics were largely stomped out after the fall of the Nazi Regime. However not entirely, with the Social Democratic party of Sweden remaining in power, many women feared forced sterilization for everyday activities marked as “crimes”. This spammed from 1934-1976, with nearly 63,000 people falling victim to a desire for “racial purity”. People as young as 15 were sterilized for going to dance calls, one woman was sterilized for merely being part of a motorcycle gang. Many orphans were sterilized upon being released to a new family. Along with this, many were sterilized for their race, physical defects and other reasons. While these horrific acts did not span as large as the Nazi regime, the ideologies of the Nazi’s still showed prevalence in other European countries, defying the morals and true hopes Darwin had.

Darwin’s idea itself has birthed immense controversy, bringing conflicts between the world of science and religion to fruition. However, Darwin did not seek for racial hierarchies, inhumane actions, and other horrific acts, Darwin hoped for equality and the removal of slavery. Darwin’s ideology was ripped from the scientific world and utilized for evil, with the movement spearheaded by his half cousin, of all people.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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