Reply #6: Social Darwinism

[AlienGirl]

Yes, in the real world characteristics like rapacity and lying allow people to advance far beyond their natural talents would suggest; and yes, evolution is not about being "most fit" so much as it is about finding a niche that is the best fit; and yes, evolution depends at least as much upon cooperation as competition. But Social Darwinists don't think about the real world--they think about the world as seen through their lenses, where the a priori assumption is that the rich must have talent and determination, and the poor must be lacking in *something* other than money.

It's a simplistic ideology that doesn't match either the sociological or biological reality, but rather a strangely idealized fantasy universe.

And egads, are they *thick* sometimes when you point that out to them...

Tucker