Social Darwinism and the Gospel of Wealth

1. Social Darwinism and The
Gospel of Wealth
By: Zoe Byrd

2. What is Social Darwinism?
Social Darwinism is a philosophy where
individuals, groups, and
people are subject to the same Darwinian
laws of natural selection as plants and
animals. Therefor, the “fittest” will
survive, and the “weak” will die off.
Those who supported Social Darwinism
believed the rich were the “fittest” and
the poor were the “weakest”, so they
should be left to die off instead of being
helped.

3. How has Social Darwinism Influenced Society?
As more immigrated to the United States,
Social Darwinism was used to justify
racism, since supporters believed some
races were inferior to others. Also as a
consequence of this philosophy, many
immigrants, along with women and
minorities, were sterilized because of the
eugenics movement.
After the Spanish-American War, it was
also used to justify American imperialism
in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines.

4. What is The Gospel of Wealth?
The Gospel of Wealth, created by
Scottish immigrant Andrew Carnegie, is
a philosophy that says rich Americans,
who were intelligent and skilled, take it
upon themselves to help close the gap
between the rich and poor through
philanthropy and therapy.
Carnegie thought leaving money to your
children was wrong, so he gave away
almost all of his money and created
libraries for the public.

5. How has the Gospel of Wealth Influenced Society?
The Gospel of Wealth influenced many of the
wealthy to become more philanthropic and
generous, like John D. Rockefeller. Because of this,
philanthropy and donating has a much more
widespread role in today’s society.
However, some who had extreme wealth used the
Gospel of Wealth to justify them not helping out the
poor and others.

6. Differences
Although the Gospel of Wealth was loosely based on Social Darwinism, the two
philosophies had distinct differences. While the Gospel of Wealth aimed to
improve the condition of the poor through philanthropy, Darwinists believed the
poor should be left to die off because they were lazy, inferior, and less fit.
Social Darwinism promoted the idea that anyone could prosper by working hard,
but Carnegie said it was the job of the wealthy to help to the poor become more
prosperous.

7. Similarities
Since the Gospel of Wealth was based on Social
Darwinism, the two share many common ideals
and beliefs.
In both philosophies, the wealthy were painted
as superior to the poor. They were more
intelligent, better fit, and hard-working, while the
poor were lazy, stupid, and less fit.
Both philosophies also had common values with
the Protestant religion, like working hard for
what you want.