How would Darwin treat the poor?

In the April 9 Fence Post, Thorn Randall objects to my criticism of Darwin’s phrase “The Preservation of Favoured Races” as promoting racism in his book on the “The Origin of Species.” Yet Darwin in the concluding chapter of his subsequent book, “Descent of Man” clearly states that man is an animal. Reducing man to an animal as he did, Darwin opened wide the door to use “science” as a tool to get rid of certain human beings.

Concerning the advancement of the welfare of mankind Darwin says, “... all ought to refrain from marriage who cannot avoid abject poverty for their children... but (poverty) tends to its own increase by leading to recklessness in marriage.” He goes on to say, “... if the prudent avoid marriage, whilst the reckless marry, the inferior members tend to supplant the better members of society.”

This kind of thinking was the bedrock of Margaret Sanger’s notorious “Negro Project” and of her strong aversion to providing charity for the poor. Hitler killed off those deemed “unproductive’ or “useless eaters” in Germany, that is, those with physical or mental handicaps, along with Jews whom he regarded as racially “inferior.” The Marxists in the USSR and China killed (or tried to “re-educate”) those who were from the “wrong” economic classes.

Under Darwin’s theory, who gets to decide which persons are in “abject poverty” or “reckless” in marriage or “inferior” or “better members of society”, or how those so labeled shall be treated?

Charles Madden

Libertyville