Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Rugged Individuals
At the conservative smackdown over evolution at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington last Thursday Larry Arnhart, a conservative who accepts the scientific case for evolution, subtly undercut the argument made by Discovery fellows John West and George Gilder that "Darwinists" are responsible for the crimes social Darwinism.
Arnhart, according to the New York Times, noted that many conservatives had been so badly burned by social Darwinism, that many conservatives today did not want “to get involved in these moral and political debates, and I think that’s evasive.”
The fact is, no matter how Discovery covers it up, that social Darwinism has much more to do with capitalism and its conservative apologists than with science and scientists.
The few remaining supporters of social Darwinism today are social and libertarian conservatives who oppose government social programs like Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment insurance -- though not welfare for the rich -- because it violates their notion of the "rugged individual."
Arnhart, according to the New York Times, noted that many conservatives had been so badly burned by social Darwinism, that many conservatives today did not want “to get involved in these moral and political debates, and I think that’s evasive.”
The fact is, no matter how Discovery covers it up, that social Darwinism has much more to do with capitalism and its conservative apologists than with science and scientists.
The few remaining supporters of social Darwinism today are social and libertarian conservatives who oppose government social programs like Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment insurance -- though not welfare for the rich -- because it violates their notion of the "rugged individual."
