Preface xviiJustas a singlecustomcountsas an evolutionaryadaptation,so too are culturesand
politicalsystems a sortof evolutionaryadaptation. Theprincipledemonstratesthat
amidsteverypossiblesocialsystemhumanscan adopt,capitalismis the evolutionary
adaptationthathas beenmostconduciveto helpinghumanbeingssurviveandthrive.I
call this the Survivalof the Freest.PartI of BookTwodevotesitselfto explainingthat
principle.PartII thenmoveson to a commonrejoinderadvancedby environmentalists.
Numerousenvironmentalistsproclaimthatalthoughcapitalismhas benefitedWestern
civilizationin the past,the Westprosperson borrowedtime,as capitalismdepletesa fixed
quantityof nonrenewablenaturalresourcesanddangerouslyaltersthe Earth’s climate.
Therefore,concludetheseenvironmentalists,any commercialcommunityinevitablyself-
destructsin the longrun,whichmeansour societymustbecomemoregovernistif it is to
avertdisaster.I spentpartII explicatinghowcapitalistprinciples—appliedmostconsis-
tently—are whatbestredressthesesupposedweaknessesof capitalism.The finalpartof
BookTwo—partIII—addressesthe governists’ proclamationthatlaissez-fairecapitalism
is immoralon accountof howcapitalismleavespeoplefree to refrainfromcharityfor the
poor.The governists,predictably,pronouncethat it is the dutyof the Stateto takemoney
fromthe rich and providefor the poor.I rebuttedthat argumentas well.
Yet the governistargumentutilizesthe ideathatwe discussedat the startof this
preface—thatto leavepeoplefreeto refrainfromcharity,as opposedto forcingthemto
givemoneyto the poor,is socialDarwinism.Becausemy argumentin BookTwoapplies
evolutionarytheoryto a defenseof capitalism,my argumentalsoleavescriticsan oppor-
tunityto accuseit of attemptingto revitalizesocialDarwinism.I thereforeintendto
devotethis book—the finalinstallmentof our trilogy—to exploringthe extentto whichit
is fair or unfairto accusea convictionof philosophyor scienceof promulgatingsocial
Darwinism.
To wit,BookThree—the presentvolume—is aboutthisexpression.Thisis a search
for—a stalkingof—the meaningof thatnotoriousphrase.We are huntingdownsocial
Darwinism.
BookThreeof Three—ThePresentVolume
BookThree is brokenintothreeParts,the firsttwoof whichtakethe formof a
historiography.In partI, we shallexplorethe historyof the expressionsocialDarwinism.
We shallexaminewhetheranyonein the nineteenthcenturycalledhimselfa socialDar-
winist,and whetherHerbertSpencerand WilliamGrahamSumnerreallydid arguethat
capitalistprinciplesrequirethatpoorpeoplebe left to die and unableto raisekids.Then,
giventhatthe partisansof the regulatory-entitlementstatefingerSpencerand Sumneras
the two personsto inspirethe eugenicists’ pseudoscientificrationalizationsfor racism,we
shallinvestigatethe extentto whichthe free-marketwritingsof Spencerand Sumnerdid
or did not influencethe eugenicsmovement.BecausesuchgovernistProgressivesas
TheodoreRoosevelt,LouisD. Brandeis,and LesterFrankWard,as wellas socialistsin the
veinof GeorgeBernardShawand BeatriceWebb,opposedthe laissez-capitalismof Spen-
cer and Sumner,suchProgressivesand socialistsare usuallyveneratedas the arch-oppo-
nentsof socialDarwinismand,by extension,the arch-opponentsof eugenics.For that
reason,we willprobeintowhethertheseProgressivesandsocialiststhemselvessup-
portedeugenicistlegislationand“scientificracism,” whichwouldactuallyleavethem
vulnerableto the chargeof socialDarwinismthemselves,insofaras thatlabelmeans
anything.Werewe to discoverthatit wasProgressives,socialists,and leftiststhemselves
whochampionedeugenicsandpoliticallymandatedracialdiscrimination,withSpencer
andSumnerandotherfree-marketersbeingthe onesto denouncesuchmeasures,it