Did Nineteenth-CenturyCapitalistsWantthe Poorto Die? 9WhoElseIs a SocialDarwinist?
ArthurBrooksemploysa tacticsimilarto JohnKennethGalbraith’s. Muchakinto
GeorgetowntheologianThomasReeseandtheMiamiHeraldop-edI quoted,Brooksex-
ploitsSpencer’s ruinedpublicimagein orderto soil that of AynRandand otherhistorical
figureshe dislikes.Brookssnivelsthat“one extremeline of reasoning” thatproliferated
fromthe late 1800sto the early1900s,arguedthat low-incomemen
wereflawedby theirverynature.By givingaid andcomfortto the underperformersin
society,charitypromotesthe worstin societyby artificiallyhelpingthe weakto survive
and bringforthnewgenerationsof underperformers.
Theintellectualrootsof thiskindof thinkingcan be tracedto the nineteenth-century
BritishphilosopherHerbertSpencer,the fatherof so-called“SocialDarwinism”... Ad-
herentsof SocialDarwinismbelievedthatobservedinequalitiesbetweenpeoplerepre-
senteda naturalprocessby whichthe “fit” (successfulpeople)roseto the top of social
and economichierarchies,and the “unfit” (thepoorand needy)wereweededout.Since
politicaland socialinstitutions(suchas welfareand charity)cannotpermanentlyalterthe
process,the thinkingwent,theseinstitutionscreateda disserviceto societyby delaying
the inevitablepopulationdeclineof the unfit....
Thissortof philosophymaysoundradicallyrightwingto modernears,reminiscentof
AynRand(whosaidthat “sufferingis a not a claimcheck,and its reliefis not the goalof
existence”) and her like.^30Theevolutionarypsychology-promotingprimatologistFransde Waal,dubs Herbert
Spencera socialDarwinistand proclaimsthat AynRandfollowsSpencer’s socialDarwin-
ist tradition.^31 But the potshotsfromBrooksandWaalmisstheirtargets.Examinethe
ostensiveimplicationbehindBrooks’ partialquotationof Randthat“sufferingis a not a
claimcheck” andthat“its reliefis not the goalof existence.. .” BrooksquotesRandin
sucha mannerto sourthe reader’s opinionof her. If Randholdingsuchviewsis evidence
of her beinga bad person,one shouldposethe followingquestionsto Dr. Brooks.“Well,
then,shouldI believethatotherpeople’s sufferingisa claimcheckuponme?Do you
meanthat the reliefof everyoneelse’s sufferingisthe goalof my existence?” Anyonewho
answersin the affirmativeis invitedto providea logicalexplanationof whyeveryone
shouldbelievethat,completewithempiricalsubstantiation.We haveyet to see this hap-
pen.Moreoften,conservativesof Brooks’s sortattemptto evadethatconsiderationby
citingDavidHume’s Is-Oughtdictum.I meanthe dictumthatfactshavenothingto do
withmorals.Thosewhocite Hume’s dictum,though,are advisedto rememberour dis-
sectionof this dictumfromBookOne.
To accuseRandof categoricallyopposingprivatecharityis to ascribeto her sensibil-
itiesthatshe did not express.Readher actualcommentaryon the matter.“Thereis
nothingwrongin helpingotherpeople,if and whentheyare worthyof the helpand you
can affordto helpthem.... WhatI am fightingis the ideathat charityis a moraldutyand
a primaryvirtue.”^32 InAtlasShrugged, Randhas protagonistJohnGaltstate,“Do you ask
if it’s everproperto helpanotherman?No—if he claimsit as his rightor as a moralduty
thatyou owehim.Yes—if suchis yourowndesirebasedon yourownselfishpleasurein
the valueof his personand his struggle.... If you chooseto helpa manwhosuffers,do it
onlyon the groundof his virtues,of his fightto recover,of his rationalrecord,or of the
fact that he suffersunjustly;thenyouractionis still a trade,and his virtueis the payment
for yourhelp.”^33 It wouldbehooveus to dispensewiththe presuppositionthatRand
preachedagainstaidingthe misfortunatewhenshe counseledagainstself-sacrificeand
altruism.Rememberthataltruismis definedas the dogmathatonecarriesa dutyto
forfeitone’s higherprioritiesfor the benefitof one’s lowerpriorities.As Randspelledit
out,