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A 2.5 page paper. By defining Social Darwinism and Capitalism, the writer demonstrates the ideologies on which the U.S. social welfare system is based. Bibliography lists 4 sources.
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2 pages (~225 words per page)
File: MM12_PGwlfr.rtf
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a comfortable life. These are the ideologies on which the social welfare system in the United States is founded. This thesis becomes acutely clear when each of these perspectives are
simply defined. Social Darwinism purports that "social policy should allow the weak and unfit to fail and die, and that this is not only good policy but morally right" (Wilkins,
1997). The connection between Darwinism and Social Darwinism is that both do purport in one way or another the survival of the fittest, however, the foundation for concept of social
Darwinism can be traced to Hobbes, Malthus and Herbert Spencer (Wilkins, 1997). William Graham Sumner also offered theories related to Social Darwinism (Boland, 1995). Sumner and his followers
argued that "social existence was a competitive struggle among individuals possessing different natural capacities and traits" (Boland, 1995). Those with the right traits would succeed and gain wealth, those lacking
those traits, such as intelligence and inner discipline, would plummet into poverty (Boland, 1995). Further, the government and the society have no responsibility to help these people, there is no
moral obligation to anyone outside of ones own personal family (Boland, 1995). According to Sumner, the state owes each citizen only peace and order and to a very limited degree,
certain property rights (Boland, 1995). While there are a number of definitions and perspectives of capitalism, this generally refers to a free and open market and trade system (Wikipedia, 2004).
Free markets promote individual freedom and democracy, according to some definitions (Wikipedia, 2004). Thus, there is private ownership and free trade of goods involved in capitalism (Wikipedia, 2004). This also
inherently demands a labor market (Journal of Poverty, n.d.). Capitalism can only survive if there is a large pool of laborers that business owners do not have to pay high
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