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 Though the super wealthy may not be biologically the fittest, they certainly know how to  survive

and have fun without rubbing elbows with 4,800 fellow travelers on a modern cruise ship.

Survival of the Fittest and Social Darwinism

  Trying times make me think of Darwin’s theory of evolution and the ways people warp his writings to justify political, social, and economic agendas. Biologists who look at Coronavirus before effective treatment or preventive options, find the fittest depends on two phases of a patient’s immune response. The first occurs when the virus first attacks the body and immune cells gather at the site of the infection to destroy it. The second phase begins when regulatory cells suppress the inflammation to allow the infected tissues to heal. A deficiency in the first phase causes uncontrolled growth in the infection. A defect in the second phase can trigger massive inflammation, like pneumonia, that damages tissue and can cause death. Thankfully, the majority of people recover from coronavirus infections. 

  Biologically, the fittest are those with a normal phase 1 response that clears the infection and keeps it from spreading in the lungs and a strong phase 2 response that prevents excessive inflammation. But survival in the United States does not depend entirely on the biology that allows the best adapted plants and animals to reproduce and transfer their genes to the next generation. Darwin’s theory of natural selection was developed to explain diversity and why different species of plants and animals evolve. He did not take into account social issues like wealth, healthcare or education. 

  When examining Covid-19 to see why people survive, we have to consider factors besides Darwin’s theory of natural selection. Access to health care, being educated enough to understand epidemiologists and cautious enough to wear masks are survival mechanisms based, in part, on political leanings, economics and education. Having enough money not to not worry about rent or food during a pandemic is a luxury for wealthy people, but also those receiving social security, medicare and medicaid. There are many nuances as to why individual people survive pandemics, and we have to be careful not to twist the theory of evolution for political benefit as was done in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 

  Social Darwinism, advocated by Herbert Spencer and others, promoted a belief that powerful people are innately better. It was used to justify imperialism, racism, eugenics and social inequality by saying that the fit inherit qualities like industriousness and the ability to accrue wealth, while the unfit are innately lazy and stupid. Spencer preached that people could genetically pass on learned qualities like frugality and morality on to their children. Unfortunately, I see vestiges of Spencer's thinking in our country today. 

  Social Darwinism forms a basis for unrestrained capitalism, calling for businesses to operate without government oversight. It opposes laws that help workers, the poor, and those who are infirm, believing they are unfit and that their extinction should not be delayed. Social Darwinists believe that individual competition for property and social status are justified tools for eliminating those who are weak and whom they judge to be immoral. 

  In the mid-1900s, some went so far as to support Eugenics. Adulf Hitler, a most notorious example, was inspired by California’s forced sterilizations of the “feeble-minded.” His call for a German master race was based on believing he could develop a pure gene pool. Hitler’s cries were similar to those of white supremacists who walk our nation’s streets spouting that white people are superior to those of other races and therefor should dominate them. White supremacy was at the heart of the defense of slavery and justified segregation. 

  According to Simon Clark of the Center for American Progress, Steven Miller, an ideologically extreme Trump advisor, began working for him before the 2016 presidential election. He promotes “the ‘great replacement' theory, fears of white genocide through immigration, race science, and eugenics; he also linked immigrants with crime, glorified the Confederacy, and promoted the genocidal book, The Camp of the Saints, as a roadmap for U.S. policy.”

  Unfortunately, the numbers of supremacists are growing. This week, in Portland, The Proud Boys, a hate group identified by the Southern Poverty Law center, was turned down due to Coronavirus concerns when they requested a permit for 10,000 people to assemble. The mayor’s order was ignored.

  Added to the way supremacists think are the evangelical believers who anoint wealthy and powerful individuals, though immoral or criminal, as chosen by God. By selling their soul to power they are rewarded with attacks on reproductive rights and freedoms for LBGTQ+ people, and the appointment of scores of conservative judges. Kept in line through promises of salvation in the coming Armageddon, they little imagine the master race they are setting up to survive on earth without them.

  The two groups stoke a dangerous situation that belittles ninety percent of humanity. Despite the fact that our country fought for independence against the divine right of kings and we fought world wars against Social Darwinism, many people bend to the rich and powerful who step on their backs.  

  Most people who support the extreme right movement are not concerned that minority populations have a disproportionate number of coronavirus victims. They find ways to avoid paying taxes so they won’t have to underwrite healthcare, childcare or a living wages for all. They are not interested in feeding the poor, caring for the homeless or those who escaped life with addiction. They pass laws to drill for oil in wildlife areas and eliminate EPA regulations. 

  Because of global warming, millions of people in the United States will be forced to migrate over the next fifty years. They will lose their jobs, starve, experience a decline in the quality of the environment and become ill while top one percent of the nation will remain secure in gated, air purified communities. The super wealthy will travel in private jets and enjoy vacations on luxury yachts where they don’t have to rub elbows with 4,800 middle class passengers packed onto cruise ships. They may not be biologically the fittest, but they certainly know how to survive. 

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References:

  Editors (2018) Social Darwinism. History.Com. retrieved from https://www.history.com/topics/early-20th-century-us/social-darwinism

Nagarkatti,P & naugarkatti, M. (2020) What does ‘survival of the fittest’ mean in the coronavirus pandemic? Look to the immune system. University of South Carolina. retrieved from https://www.sc.edu/uofsc/posts/2020/05 coronavirus_immune_system.php#.X2l2Dy9h2S4

Lustgarten, A. (2020) How Climate Migration with reshape America. New York Times magazine, retrieved from CLIMATE. 

Unparalleled privilege: Why white evangelicals see Trump as their savior. The Guardian, retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jan/11/donald-trump-evangelical-christians-cyrus-king

Clark, S. (2020) How White Supremacy Returned to Mainstream Politics. Center for American Progress. retrieved from https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/security/reports/2020/07/01/482414/white-supremacy-returned-mainstream-politics/

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