What idea was promoted by the theory of social Darwinism in the late nineteenth century?

What idea was promoted by the theory of social Darwinism in the late nineteenth century?

• A. Inequality is both natural and cyclical.
• B. Progress is the result of competition, and social reforms and other modes of human interference impede progress.
• C. Certain inequities should be ameliorated by government intervention.
• D. Charles Darwin actually was writing about people when he authored On the Origin of Species.

Answer: (B)

Progress through competition with minimal government interference is what social Darwinism promoted. In the late nineteenth century, proponents argued that society advances when individuals and groups compete, and that government reforms, welfare, or interventions to aid the poor would distort natural selection and block progress. This justified laissez-faire capitalism and the view that inequalities reflected natural differences in ability or effort rather than social forces. It’s a misuse of Darwin’s ideas applied to human society, not a claim that Darwin himself wrote about people in that way. The other options don’t fit because social Darwinism did not advocate government remedies for inequality; it rejected such intervention, and it does not assert that inequality is inherently cyclical.

Progress through competition with minimal government interference is what social Darwinism promoted. In the late nineteenth century, proponents argued that society advances when individuals and groups compete, and that government reforms, welfare, or interventions to aid the poor would distort natural selection and block progress. This justified laissez-faire capitalism and the view that inequalities reflected natural differences in ability or effort rather than social forces. It’s a misuse of Darwin’s ideas applied to human society, not a claim that Darwin himself wrote about people in that way. The other options don’t fit because social Darwinism did not advocate government remedies for inequality; it rejected such intervention, and it does not assert that inequality is inherently cyclical.