Such assumptions formed the basis of Social Darwinism popularized by English philosopher Herbert Spencer . Just as the fittest survived in Darwin’s process of evolution, so in human society only the fittest individuals survived and flourished in the marketplace. Industrialists seized on this theory to justify their positions. Again Rockefeller proclaimed, “The growth of a large business is merely the survival of the fittest. This is not an evil tendency in business. It is merely the working out of the law of nature and a law of God.” Social Darwinism appealed to businessmen because it seemed to legitimize their success and confirm their values. It placed their activities within the context of traditional American ideas of freedom and individualism.
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