feb 1, 1870 - Laissez-faire Capitalism: Social Darwinism

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Social Darwinism is the belief that Charles Darwin’s ideas of natural selection in biology of survival of the fittest also applied to the marketplace economy. Herbert Spencer, who led this belief, advocated for the belief that leaving wealth to those that were best fit would benefit everyone. William Graham Summer argued that helping the poor went against the laws of nature and would weaken the human species. This viewed the poor as disposable and extra weight holding society back.

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