Some scientists even measured the size of skulls of different races in order to determine their racial superiority and status. Hitler admired the British for occupying the Indian subcontinent, affirming the superiority of the white race. Later, the theory provided an effective ideology for the Nazis to purify the German or Aryan race from other elements which, according to them, were polluting their race. Since the theory of social Darwinism provided them with a moral tool that it was the law of nature for the strong to survive and rule over weak nations, they continued to occupy colonies, exploit their resources, and to enslave or massacre the colonised people. In the 19th century, European imperialism flourished and acquired political, economic and cultural domination over Asian and African countries. Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), an English philosopher, coined the term social Darwinism and applied it to prove racial superiority of the white race. His argument actually meant that it is the rule of nature that the strong are privileged to sustain hardships of nature and continue to exist while it is the fate of the weak to succumb to death. Darwin argued that strong species survive in nature while the weak are wiped out.ĭarwinism did not imply superiority of a race. The book challenged the religious views on creation, substantiating the evolutionary process of human beings. When Charles Darwin published his book Origin of Species in 1859, it immediately became a success and 20,000 copies were sold within a week.
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