- Herbert Spencer took Darwin’s theory of Evolution and applied it to human society
o Made Social Darwinism to justify laissez-faire or unrestrained capitalism.
o Wrote about ideas before Darwin’s book published.
§ First book argued for laissez faire capitalism, which allows businesses to operate w/o government interference.
o 7 years before Darwin published Origin of Species, would coin the term “survival of the fittest”
- Believed that competition was the “law of life” and resulted in the survival of the fittest.
o “Society advances where its fittest members are allowed to assert their fitness with least hindrance”
§ Went on to argue that the unfit should not be “prevented from dying out”.
- Believed that individuals could genetically pass learned characteristics to children
o Was popular but erroneous belief in 19th century.
o Spencer believed that wealthy inherited industriousness, frugality, desire to own property while the poor inherited laziness, stupidity, and immorality.
§ According to Spencer, poor people would eventually go extinct due to inability to compete.
o Soon England and other advanced nations would evolve into peaceful, “industrial” societies.
- Argued government should not interfere w/ survival of fittest individuals
o Fittest should have freedom to do whatever they want as long as they did not infringe on the equal rights of other competitors.
o Criticized English Parliament for ‘over legislation’.
§ Such laws delayed extinction of unfit.
- Believed that government should have two purposes
o Defend nation and protect citizens from criminals.
o Objected to public school system, control of diseases (which “are among the penalties Nature has attached to ignorance and imbecility and should not, therefore, be tampered with”), taxation which was a confiscation of wealth and undermining natural revolution of society, and ironically condemned colonialism and wars.
§ Ironic because many of his ideas used to justify colonialism.
§ Colonialism = vast government interference, leading to opposition from Spencer.
o Also believed labor unions took away freedom of individual workers to negotiate with employers.
- Laissez-Faire Capitalism in America
o Often called period between 1870 and early 1900s the Gilded Age.
§ Age of industrialization, laissez-faire capitalism, and no income tax.
o William Sumner praised new class of millionaires.
§ Argued social progress depended on these fit families
§ By 1800s however, monopolies and not competing companies increasingly controlled production and prices of goods.
- Led to workers’ wages and working conditions not being regulated.
o Wages rose moderately, but frequent economic depression caused deep pay cuts.
o Local judges who often shared the laissez-faire views of employers, issued court orders outlawing worker strikes and boycotts.
- Starting in 1880s worker strikes, protests increased, more violent.
o Some voiced fears of a Marxist revolution.
- Around 1890 US Supreme Court began to aggressively back laissez-faire capitalism.
o Justice Stephen J. Field said that Dec. of Indep. Guaranteed “right to pursue any lawful business or vocation in any manner not inconsistent with equal rights of others”
o Ruled many state laws which attempted to regulate working conditions, etc, as unconstitutional
§ Often based decisions on 5th and 14th Amendments.
- 1890 reformers got Congress to pass Sherman Antitrust Act
o Focused on “combinations” like monopolies (also called trusts)
o Banned them if they interfered w/ interstate commerce.
§ Justices instead focused on behaviors of “bad trusts” that used unfair tactics against competitors.
- Supreme Court limited p rotest rights of labor unions in 1911 case that outlawd some economic boycotts.
o Court continued to weaken unions until 1930s.
- Progressive Era reformers increasing successful (despite hostpile Supreme Court)
o 1906 in Pure Food and Drug Act prohibited companies from selling contaminated foods and misbranded drugs.
o By 1912 fed and state governments have adopted Progressive reform legislation aimed at reducing child labor and improving work conditions.
§ Had three presidential candidates all w/ Progressive platform.
§ Democrat Woodrow Wilson, Republican Howard Taft and Progressive Theodore Roosevelt.
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