There is a big clash between religion and science. Charles Darwin (1809-1882) said that animals had derived from simpler animal forms. The animals and plants we see today are the results of mutations of earlier forms. The ancient Greeks had had the same idea. Darwin put evidence to his theory on a sea voyage (as a naturalist on board the HMS Beagle from 1831-1836) in the Pacific. On the Galapagos Islands (off the coast of Ecuador), he saw some weird animals that don't exist anywhere else in the world. He published On the Origin of the Species in 1859 about "Natural Selection." He said under some conditions in nature, animals survive and under other conditions, they die. Essentially, nature decides what lives or dies out. New forms must survive under the conditions they are given. It was "Survival of the Fittest"–those that match the environment (or can successfully adapt to it) live. Animals had to adapt and mutate to continue to survive. Those that are the fittest (fit in with their environment the best) survive. Those animals that have a hard time fitting in with the environment, may eventually die out. If environment changes, what is fittest will change, too. Man has changed and evolved. We all evolve from slime.
The big impact of this theory is that it screws up some religion. God made all animals specially! The Bible is the truth. The theory really got to the Fundamentalist Protestants who claimed all of the Bible was the absolute truth and that God made animals special (special creation). This is the special creationist position–God made all animals specially. Evolution isn't necessary and impossible–God created us all specially!! Gradually, as more evidence came out about evolution, more Christians came on board. All the evidence is for evolution. There are simpler animals on the bottom strata of the earth. Catholics say at some point men evolved, and they were given a soul. The Protestants split into 2 groups. The liberals say the Old Testament isn't as true as the New Testament is and that no one knows how long a "day" of creation is. God created the earth in seven days, but how long is a day? They say that the story of creation was a parable (teaching story) and that evolution simply shows God's creativity. The Fundamentalists are still around though (Southern Baptists, some Lutherans). Fundamentalist Christians won't compromise, but there aren't many Fundamentalists around–they just get more TV time. Some fundamentalists even say that dinosaurs were never alive. That dinosaur skeletons are frauds by the devil to trip up scientists. Evolution won though. The farther you dig down into the earth, the more simple forms of animals, plants, etc. you find.
In 1925, the famous Scopes "Monkey" trial was held in which a biology teacher in Tennessee was fired for teaching evolution. [The biology teacher, John Scopes, was accused of violating the Butler Act, which forbade teaching evolution in public schools because evolution contradicted the story of creation in the Bible. Clarence Darrow, one of the most famous attorneys of his time, was Scopes's defense attorney. William Jennings Bryan, famous orator/politician and Secretary of State under Woodrow Wilson, was the prosecutor of the case. Darrow argued that evolution is scientifically valid and that the Butler Act is unconstitutional. Scopes was convicted and fined, but the state supreme court later reversed the decision on technical grounds. This trial was the inspiration for the play and movie, Inherit the Wind.] It was the last real gasp of Darwinism against Creationism. Though some Fundamentalist groups are still trying to erase evolution . . . Interestingly enough, Charles Darwin was actually a religious person. He thought that evolution simply showed the creativity and intelligence of God.
Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) was a philosopher and publicist who believed Darwinism could work not only for nature, but for society as well. Social Darwinism says some people are better than others; therefore, they succeed whereas others fail. "Survival of the Fittest" explains society, according to Spencer. Good, moral people rise to the top. The rich deserve to be rich. The morally inferior deserve to be poor, so they are poor. Everything in the world is the way nature made it. People are at their social level cuz of "survival of the fittest." Therefore, you don't have to try and feed the poor cuz that's taking stuff from the good people who are surviving. So we shouldn't try to interfere. Things are the way they are because that's the way it is supposed to be. Trying to help the poor would just be a waste cause the poor will always be poor, no matter what. That is what nature intended. The poor should simply evolve out, apparently.
Eugenics is the theory of selective breeding and marriage. We should strengthen the human strain by selective breeding–encourage bright people to marry each other and have bright children. Supposedly, you can breed a special race of people who are super-humans! This was used to stop the mentally challenged from breeding. Then, the question comes up of what race is smartest, etc. Actually, it's the real start of racism cuz whites are better obviously cuz whites are running the world and have all the money, etc. Spencer said the English are superior to other Europeans. Whites are superior to "colored" peoples. It seemed like a good idea to England and Germany. This theory was used to justify war to crush weak nations. Big nations are justified in beating up on smaller nations. It was used for unscrupulous government tactics to give strong service. It was also used to justify nasty business dealings. Government shouldn't step in. It is unnatural. President Teddy Roosevelt was eating sausage one morning while reading a book about the meat industry (spoiled meat, rats, etc. go into sausage). This brings about the Pure Food and Drug Act.
Darwin never said that the best live and the worst die. People were stressing heredity, when actually people are a product of their heredity and environment combined. Bright kids, generally, are the advantaged kids. The ones who have the money to go to the big schools, etc. Some have always thought the other races were stupid. The race that gets picked on keeps changing, though. In 1830, the Irish were considered a subspecies cuz they talked funny, drank a lot, did menial jobs, etc. In the 1900's, the same was thought about the Italians. The same has also been said about African Americans. It wasn't true then and isn't true now. All these races were persecuted by the majority population, so they got depressed, drank, fought, committed crimes, etc. cuz they had no opportunities open to them. We have to pay more taxes to help get these people out of the ghettos, so they can have the opportunities as the advantaged folks! African Americans (and others "of color") have a harder time assimilating (fitting in–what the Irish and Italians eventually did) and getting rid of the stereotypes cuz they look different.
Capitalism is free, unregulated business. The people who own on a large scale. Adam Smith thought that if you shop everything works out. An individual owns things and competes with others. There are multiple buyers and sellers. It should produce the best goods at the lowest price. This may work for shoes, but it doesn't work for drug companies. We need a few companies that are controlled by the government so drug research, etc. can make enough money to keep looking for new drugs to cure cancer. Capitalism made competition but slows progress cuz knowledge was hoarded and besides there's no money for research! Sometimes there's no need for a bunch of people doing the same thing. Sometimes smaller is better. Inventing and researching takes up valuable time. The phone companies need regulation or they can build monopolies are charge us through the nose! There's not actually equality cuz lots of small dealers must charge more than large stores which causes monopoly, inflation, depression, etc.
Capitalists don't want the government interfering. However, they wanted the government to have tariff policies to help keep foreign goods out and they want the armed forces to protect them overseas. Businesses wanted to eliminate competition. Workers were treated badly, with low pay and eighteen-hour days. They didn't have to work Sundays so they could get drunk then in order to face the next grueling week. There was no education for kids cuz kids were cheap labor. Small hands of children could more easily reach into weaving machines to fix broken machines. The only trouble was keeping the kids awake. And to keep them from getting injured or killed. They needed government regulations!
There are a couple of capitalist mantras: "Rugged Individualism" and Private Free Enterprise. The rugged individualist is the so-called "self-made man." I made my money all on my own. I did it through the private free enterprise system in which the private, free individual wins cuz he/she was enterprising enough to go for the gusto. I did it all on my own, so it isn't fair to tax me to help those who are too lazy to do it for themselves!! This is absurd. We all get help. We all use public roads, public services (police, fire departments), etc. YOU are attending a public school right now. Community colleges only charge about one-fifth of what it actually takes in dollars to educate you. The state and federal government (our tax dollars at work) picks up the bill for the rest. No one is a self-made man. If you can afford to go to private school, you must have a rich family backing you up. So you aren't self-made. No one makes it on his/her own. We need the government to help out in some areas. As modern-day political strategist James Carville reportedly once said, "If you see a turtle up on a fence post, you have to think he had some help getting there!"