Social Darwinism: Science and Myth in Anglo-American Social Thought, with a new preface

336 Pages·1989·18.48 MB·English

by  Robert Bannister

Social Darwinism
Science and Myth in
Anglo-American Social
Thought
American Civilization
A Series Edited by Allen F. Davis
Social Darwinism
Science and Myth in
Anglo-American Social
Thought
'With a new preface
ROBERT C. BANNISTER
Temple University Press Philadelphia
Temple University Press, Philadelphia 19122
© 1979 by Temple University. All rights reserved
Published 1979
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Ccmgress Cataloging in Publication Data
Bannister, Robert C.
Social Darwinism.
(American civilization)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Social Darwinism-History. 1. Title.
II. Series.
HM106.B255 301'.0424 79-615
ISBN 0-87722-155-3
For Joan

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: The Idea of Social Darwinism 3
1 The Scientific Background 14
2 Hushing Up Death 34
3 Philanthropic Energy and Philosophic Calm 57
4 Amending the Faith 79
5 William Graham Sumner 97
6 The Survival of the Fittest Is Our Doctrine 114
7 Neo-Darwinism and the Crisis of the 1890s 137
8 A Pigeon Fanciers' Polity 164
9 The Scaffolding of Progress 180
10 The Nietzsche Vogue 201
11 Beyond the Battle: The Literary Naturalists 212
12 Imperialism and the Warriar Critique 226
Epilogue: From Histrionics to History 245
Notes 252
Index 285

Acknowledgments
The idea for this study developed initially during a year of reading on
British Intellectual History from 1880 to 1920 at the British Library in
London, supported by a Study Fellowship from the American Council of
Learned Societies. During 1970-71 and 1974-75 I was able to work inter
mittently on the project in connection with a more general study of the
origins of American sociology (forthcoming) under grants from the National
Endowment for the Humanities and the Andrew Mellon Foundation. In
addition, Swarthmore College has supported the work through a generous
sabbatical policy and grants to cover secretarial costs.
Two chapters previously appeared in slightly altered form. Chapter 6
incorporates" 'The Survival of the Fittest Is our Doctrine': History or His
trionics?" (Journal of the History of Ideas, 31 [19701, 377-98), and is re
printed with the permission of the editors. Chapter 5 appeared in slightly
different form as "William Graham Sumner's 'Social Darwinism'" (His
tory of Political Economy, 5 [19731, 89-109), copyright by Duke University
Press, which grants permission for republication.
My quest for the elusive Snark of "social Darwinism" placed a special
strain on the patience and good will of many librarians. The incomparable
resources of the British Library in London and the Bodelian at Oxford
proved invaluable. I am also indebted to many libraries in this country for
help in tracing often obscure publications, in particular the Library of
Congress, the New York Public Library, and the university libraries at
Cornell, Columbia, Chicago, Northwestern, Penn, Yale, and Wisconsin. I
want especially to thank Ms. Judith Schiff at Yale, and Ms. Josephine L.
Harper at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin for assistance with the
William Graham Sumner and Henry Demarest Lloyd Papers respectively.
My colleagues and students at Swarthmore College have provided a
receptive audience from the start. I wish especially to thank Professor
James A. Field, Jr., of the History Department for his interest and critical
acumen. Professor Allen F. Davis of Temple University, and general editor
of the Temple University Press series, American Civilization, has been
supportive at various stages of the project. Finally, I want to thank my
associates in the General History Department of the University of Helsinki
-where I served as visiting professor in 1977-78-for providing through
scholarly example and personal kindness so ideal an environment for com
pleting the final draft.