Socialism and Social Darwinism; Where are the Word Police?

from Cato @ Liberty by David Boaz:

Socialism and Social Darwinism:

By David Boaz

[...]

The Encyclopedia Britannica says that social Darwinism is

the theory that persons, groups, and races are subject to the same laws of natural selection as Charles Darwin had perceived in plants and animals in nature. According to the theory, which was popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the weak were diminished and their cultures delimited, while the strong grew in power and in cultural influence over the weak….The poor were the “unfit” and should not be aided; in the struggle for existence, wealth was a sign of success. At the societal level, social Darwinism was used as a philosophical rationalization for imperialist, colonialist, and racist policies, sustaining belief in Anglo-Saxon or Aryan cultural and biological superiority.

Not a pleasant idea. And a pretty nasty thing to accuse someone of. It’s always used as a smear of conservatives and libertarians — by [..]

The word police are very selective in who they defend. They prefer to defend those who wish to dictate every move of the lives of others while leaving defenseless to verbal denigration those who find virtue in individual autonomy and reliance.