top of page

Social Darwinism and the Pandemic

Diya Kotak

“Poverty, the state of one who lacks a usual or socially

acceptable amount of money or material possessions.”

According to Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, only the

plants and animals best adapted to their environment will

survive to reproduce and transfer their genes to the next

generation. Animals and plants that are poorly adapted to

their environment will not survive to reproduce. Darwin’s

theory of evolution by natural selection was a scientific theory

focused on explaining his observations about biological

diversity and why different species of plants and animals look

different.

In the late 1800s, the idea of “Social Darwinism began to

emerge, in which Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by

natural selection was used to justify certain political, social, or

economic views. Social Darwinists believe in “survival of the

fittest”—the idea that certain people become powerful in

society because they are innately better. Social Darwinism

has been used to justify imperialism, racism, eugenics and

social inequality at various times over the past century and a

half.

After Darwin published his theories on biological evolution and

natural selection, Herbert Spencer drew further parallels

between his economic theories and Darwin’s scientific

principles.

Spencer applied the idea of “survival of the fittest” to so-called

laissez faire or unrestrained capitalism during the Industrial

Revolution, in which businesses are allowed to operate with

little regulation from the government. 

Spencer opposed any laws that helped workers, the poor, and

those he deemed genetically weak. Such laws, he argued,

would go against the evolution of civilization by delaying the

extinction of the “unfit.”


Social Darwinism declined during the 20th century as an

expanded knowledge of biological, social, and cultural

phenomena undermined, rather than supported, its basic

tenets.

However, with respect to the current situation that the world is

undergoing, this rather controversial theory may have some

validity to it.

With the Covid-19 outbreak, our lives have hit a pause. The

economy is taking a blow, and people are draining out their

savings in order to support themselves. The purchase of

masks, alcohol based sanitisers, gloves aside, getting a bed

in a hospital even for a symptomatic Covid-19 patient in India

is near impossible due to the lack of facilities. And if by

chance, you do have connections that can secure a place for

you, can even the middle class citizens incur the costs?

Chandan D S Dang, Executive Director, Securenow.in, a

Delhi-based insurance broker said, “Normal treatment cost of

Rs 50,000-1 lakh has now surged to Rs 1-2 lakh for Covid-19

treatment (due to increase in cost of consumables, patient

distancing in hospitals, etc.) and to Rs 6-7 lakh or more where

co-morbidities are involved or treated in expensive hospitals.”

Now, in a country with approximately 1,38,72,97,452 people,

and 22% of the population living below the poverty line, how

will they sustain themselves now that they’re out of jobs, and

have no income?

Here’s where this theory comes into play. Let’s assume that

there are no charities and non-profit organisations, and they

receive no aid from the government.

Who will support the poor?

They might not be “unfit to live”, as per the theory, but without

proper financial aid from the government, they are unfit to

support themselves and their families, which would result in


leading a very difficult life, with barely any food, illiteracy and

maybe even homelessness.

According to a study at Northwestern University, poor eating

habits associated with poverty can increase the risk of certain

diseases for generations, as nutrition-linked diseases imprint

their way onto swaths of the human genome.

This would increase the risk of infection in the whole family,

due to malnutrition.

If these people get Covid-19, who is going to pay for their

treatment? Who will give these people a home to self-

quarantine? Who will pay for the expensive medication? 

In these current times, supporting local businesses and

donating to various charities is of utmost importance, just so

we can do our part as human beings and help those who

really need it.

コメント


Subscribe to the MUNDPSC newsletter

Thanks for submitting!

  • Instagram
  • Facebook

© 2020 by MUNDPSC

bottom of page