82 Chapter 4
ArthurA. EkirchhailsWardas a “staunchcriticof competitionandlaissezfaire.. .”
Moreover,Wardwas a crusaderfor “socialreform” who“cameto rival... SocialDarwin-
ists like SpencerandSumner” as “a socialtheorist.” WardwiselyrepudiatedSpencer’s
andSumner’s nonsenseand“offeredhis conceptof a dynamic,appliedsociologyin
opposition” to their“staticsociology.” Indeed,Ekirchpraises the entireProgressive
movement,paraphrasingits agendain thismanner:“Insteadof acceptingnaturalor
biologicalevolutionin termsof hands-offor laissezfaire,menmightcooperateto shape
the environmentto meettheirsocialneeds.” ElsewhereEkirchhappilyexplains,“Pro-
gressives,whodid not acceptthe mechanisticdeterminismof Darwin’s evolutionary
systemor Marx’s economics,soughtto controlprogressand sustainhumanvalues.”^11
RightafterblastingSumnerand JusticeHolmesfor beingtoo laissezfairefor his tastes,
R. LaurenceMoorelauds“LesterWardandRichardEly” as “twopioneersin the revolt
againstSocialDarwinism.. .”^12 GeorgeE. Mowry(b. 1909)of UCLAcheersWardon as
well.MowrychristensWard“the fatherof Americansociology.. .” Whathe likesmost
aboutWard,Mowryelaborates,is thatWardled the destructionof Sumnerandsocial
Darwinism.He announces,“The firstsustainedtheoreticalattackagainstSumnerand his
mentorSpencercamefroma groupof sociologists,includingLesterWard,... CharlesH.
Cooley,andEdwardA. Ross.” Thisgroupspearheadedthe “firstsustainedtheoretical
attack” on “the socialDarwinism” mentality.Indubitably,this socialDarwinismmental-
ity “assumedthat the fiercecompetitionin naturewas the naturaland goodthingfor both
animalandman.” Ward“challengedthe philosophicheart” of the ideologyspoutedby
Sumnerand Spencer.^13
Comparablesensibilitiesare expressedby JohnA. Garraty(b. 1920),whoauthoredthe
best-sellingtextbookThe AmericanNation, andwho,like Hofstadter,taughtat Columbia
University.GarratyrhapsodizesthatWardwasan “outstanding” and“phenomenally
learnedman.. .” Wardput his knowledgeto gooduse, Garratycoos,as Ward“effectively
demonstrated” the “dubiouscharacter” of “AmericansocialDarwinists,mostnotably
WilliamGrahamSumnerand JohnFiske.. .”^14
AndSidneyJ. Blumenthal,an adviserto PresidentClinton,keepsthis fablealive.In his
1986 historyof the conservativemovement,Blumenthalemphasizesthe identityof the
scoundrelswhomWardhadfought.“... HerbertSpencer,the Victorianphilosopherof
SocialDarwinism,propoundedthe iron‘law’ of nature:the wealthywere‘fittest’ to enjoy
theirwealthand the poorhad earnedtheirpoverty.” Blumenthalcontinueswithwhathe
regardsto be the correctiveto this phenomenon.“Therootsof bothmodernAmerican
sociologyandeconomicscan be tracedto the nineteenth-centuryassaulton the Social
Darwinistviewpoint.In 1884,LesterF. Ward,the fatherof Americansociology,published
a piercingessayentitled‘TheLaissezFaireDoctrineIs Suicidal.’” ThenBlumenthalex-
claimsthat it “wasin this spiritthat the disciplineof sociologyin Americawasborn.” He
thengoeson to commendRichardT. Ely and JohnMaynardKeynesfor beingenemiesof
socialDarwinism.^15 Insofaras one considerssupportfor eugenicslegislationto be sup-
portfor socialDarwinism,Blumenthal’s assessmentof Ward,Ely,andKeynesposesa
dilemma,as we shallexamineshortly.
Governistsare not alonein believingand disseminatingsuchinaccuracies.BrinkLind-
sey,oncevicepresidentof researchat the libertarianCatoInstitute,contendsthatSum-
ner’s “socialDarwinist” writingscouldnot withstandlogicalcriticismsfrom“Lester
Ward” and othergreat“socialscientists.. .” Lindseyis gratefulthat Ward“scoffedat the
notion” thatfreemarkets“reflectedin theireverydetailthe immutableworkingsof
naturallaw and werethusbeyondimprovement.”^16
And,as withtheseothers,the PulitzerPrize-winningCarlN. Degler(b. 1921)of
StanfordUniversitycongratulatesWardfor beingSpencer’s “longtimeideologicalene-
my” anda “socialreformer” whofoughtfor his “beliefin the equalityof people.. .”