Darwinism and Laissez-faire Capitalism

Although some people consider evolution to be a biological theory, Darwin's ideas have been used to formulate and justify many negative philosophies. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, authors of The Communist Manifesto, were happy about Darwin's On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. Karl Marx said that it "provides a basis in natural science for the historical class struggle". Hitler was a Darwinist, the philosophies of eugenics are evolution-based, racism was "scientifically" justified by evolution, abortion has been supported by false evolutionary claims, and so on. Unfortunately, many liberal "Christians" also embrace evolutionism and shipwreck their fragile faith.

Industrialist Andrew Carnegie (with his hero Charles Darwin added)

People will find ways to justify their bigotry, selfishness, greed, and pride. (For that matter, see the kinship of atheism and Satanism.) Rebellion against God's commands for personal gain has existed in one form or another since the beginning (Genesis 3:6). When capitalism is performed through biblical guidelines and respect for others, society flourishes. But laissez-faire capitalism is ruthless, and is based on greed and Darwinian principles. It existed before Darwin's writings (as did racism, evolutionary ideas, and other evils), but it flourished under "scientific" ideas. It's ironic that people who tried to mix a form of Christian values with extreme capitalism were so vicious that people rebelled by going the other way, supporting socialist and communist views (especially through labor unions). Both views were supported by evolutionary thinking

The Darwinian worldview was critical, not only in influencing the development of Nazism and communism, but also in the rise of the ruthless capitalists that flourished in the late 1800s and early 1900s (Morris and Morris, 1996). A key aspect of this brand of capitalism was its extreme individualism which indicated that other persons count for little, and that it is both natural and proper to exploit "weaker" companies. The socalled robber barons often concluded that their behavior was justified by natural law and was the inevitable outcome of history (Josephson, 1934). Many were raised as Christians, but rejected their Christianity or modified it to include their socialist/Darwinian ideas. Gertrude Himmelfarb noted that Darwinism may have been accepted in England in part because it justified the greed of certain people.

You can read the rest (for free, as always, no laissez-faire happening here) by clicking on "Darwin's Influence on Ruthless Laissez Faire Capitalism".