Spencer believed his own England and other advanced nations were naturally evolving into peaceful 'industrial' societies. The government, in his view, should not take any actions to prevent this from happening, since this would go against the evolution of civilization. They would eventually become extinct because of their failure to compete. The unfit inherited laziness, stupidity, and immorality.Īccording to Spencer, the population of unfit people would slowly decline.

To Spencer, the fittest persons inherited such qualities as industriousness, frugality, the desire to own property, and the ability to accumulate wealth. This was a common, but erroneous belief in the 19th century. Unlike Darwin, Spencer believed that individuals could genetically pass on their learned characteristics to their children. 'Society advances,' Spencer wrote, 'where its fittest members are allowed to assert their fitness with the least hindrance.' He went on to argue that the unfit should 'not be prevented from dying out.' Spencer believed that competition was 'the law of life' and resulted in the 'survival of the fittest.'

Herbert Spencer based his concept of social evolution, popularly known as 'Social Darwinism,' on individual competition. His books convinced many that the destiny of civilization rested with those who were the 'fittest.' The 'Fittest' and the 'Unfit' With the financial support of friends, Spencer wrote more than a dozen volumes in 36 years. A year later, and seven years before Darwin published Origin of Species, Spencer coined the phrase 'survival of the fittest.'ĭarwin's theory inspired Spencer to write more books, showing how society evolved. He argued for laissez-faire capitalism, an economic system that allows businesses to operate with little government interference. Spencer never married, tended to worry a lot about his health, and preferred work to life's enjoyments. For a brief time, he worked as a railroad surveyor and then as a magazine writer. Born in 1820, Herbert Spencer taught himself about the natural sciences. He became the most influential philosopher in applying Darwin's ideas to social evolution. The British philosopher Herbert Spencer wrote about these ideas even before Darwin's book was published.

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