How do good ideas go so horribly wrong? Darwinism is taken to a new level with Social Darwinism, but applying theories of nature to social context can be problematic. This website is meant to help guide you through the theory of Social Darwinism. There are sections to go into detail about prominent figures involved in the creation of the theory, big ideas and terms to know, and key examples throughout history.
Social Darwinism takes the ideas of Charles Darwin, such as the theory of evolution and natural selection, and puts them into a social context. After its introduction, Social Darwinism was also expanded to include an economic and political contexts. In his book, On the Origins of Species, Charles Darwin wrote about the theory of evolution. These ideas about evolution and Darwinism spread to different areas of focus, and soon people were expanding on the theory with their own ideas. When Darwinism was applied to a social context, it impacted the lives of several groups of people. The most well known examples of Social Darwinism include things like the Holocaust and Ethnological Expositions. These examples are typically more negative experiences because Social Darwinism was used as a way to keep groups of people down and other groups in positions of power and influence.