The Relationship between Darwinism and Racism - Essay Example

? Analyze the Relationship between Darwinism and Racism Introduction According to Darwinism, individuals are more powerful than the society. Individuals who believe in Darwinism are of the opinion that the society can be regarded inferior to the needs of the individual. Darwinism encourages a ruthless system filled with self-interests and intolerance to treatment of other individuals (Dickens 2000, p. 54). Sometimes, Darwinism incorporates the beliefs of socialists who believe that individuals can rise through the natural law of selection and create their own utopian society. Darwinism believes in individuals controlling their own way of living without the intervention of the government. According to Darwinism, the rich should keep on getting rich while the underprivileged will remain poor. Through the natural selection, only a few individuals benefit while the larger population remains disadvantaged. Although individuals compete in a struggle, only the strong individuals end up surviving at the expense of the weak. Racism has existed for a long time; due to differences in people’s culture or race there may emerge discrimination (Jennings & Cashmore 2001, p. 27). Both racism and Darwinism bring a negative element to a society in which they exist. This assignment will discuss the relationship between Darwinism and racism in regard to the Nigerian context. Darwinism in Nigeria Social Darwinism describes the idea that, just like plants and animals, individuals engage in a struggle for existence, whereby through natural selection, the strong survive. People living in Nigeria have fought for various reasons such as jobs, resources, sports and many other reasons. This depicts how social Darwinism works. The economy of Nigeria has made life hard and the acquisition of resources difficult and strenuous. Employment opportunities are difficult to come by and only a few individuals end up getting jobs. In order for individuals to survive, it is essential that individuals must be financially stable. However, without a decent and a stable job, life translates into a battle (Dickens 2000, p. 55). When offering a job, the hiring manager has to interview people. Consequently, the manager offers the job to the most qualified individual with the required potential. Individuals who have graduated from different colleges and have immense working experience get lucky in the job market. On the contrary, those individuals without any qualification or working experience end up losing in the job market. Darwinism has encouraged individuals who have worked their entire life to overpower individuals who have never worked. It is due to Darwinism that some individuals have climbed the social ladder while others remain at the base of the ladder. This has contributed to the emergence of two or more than two social groups. Despite Darwinism being in the workplace in Nigeria, there is also Darwinism in the acquisition of resources; the powerful use their positions to solicit wealth, which only ends up benefiting them. This has been a concern of distress in Nigeria since the individuals in power apply social Darwinism. They purport that strong individuals should always survive at the expense of the weak (Thakur 2005, p. 33). Those in power have used corruption as a vehicle for getting whatever they require. For example, the PDP, a political force in Nigeria, has applied social Darwinism in its ruling. As a result, the rich have continued benefiting from the power they exercise over the poor. This political power has overpowered the rich through corruption, deception, and depression over the poor. This has made the rich acquire more resources than the poor (Carroll 2003, p.92). Social Darwinism in Nigeria has led to the coexistence of different groups; this has precipitated the emergence of conflicts in the society. Racism in Nigeria Racism is the belief that capabilities and characteristics can be accredited to persons based on their skin color. Racism is an aspect that has existed for a long time in the world. According to racism, some racial groups have superiority over others. As a result of racism, some racial groups have practiced racial discrimination over other racial groups. Different racial groups have used racial discrimination as a powerful weapon in conflicts and wars. Racism can be associated with religious and political extremism, xenophobia, terrorism, hatred and racial supremacy (Fredrickson 2003, p. 35). In Nigeria, conflicts have emerged from time to time due to racism. Racism has brought differences in how different individuals perform their roles in accordance to their instincts; this has led to the emergence of conflicts. Various political and religious extremists have emerged and promoted racism through discrimination. The country has divisions according to the religion professed; the Muslims occupy the Northern side while Christians occupy the Southern part of the country (Memmi 2000, p. 47). This has led to eruption of conflicts because either group feels superior to the other. The conflicts that emerge between the two groups promote discrimination on the basis of whether one is a Christian or a Muslim. Political extremists have also emerged; recently, a group known as Boko Haram has emerged and threatened to overthrow the government from power and create an Islamic state. On the basis of resources, there have been conflicts between the Northern and the Southern parts of the country. Primarily, this has happened due to the precious resource of oil. Racism has brought competition for resources; this has accelerated conflicts among the different groups. Racism has made some groups superior over others in Nigeria (Fredrickson 2003, p. 38). Relationship between Darwinism and Racism Although racism has existed throughout history, Charles Darwin gave it scientific validity. Through his theory of natural selection, Darwin presented the law of the jungle, which made conflicts and wars inevitable to the human race. According to Darwinism, individuals have to engage in a struggle for their survival (Wallace 2007, p. 54). Racism apportions this notion of struggle based on the fact that there has to emerge superiority and inferiority for individuals to survive. Hence, in both racism and Darwinism, there has to emerge a group or a class of individuals who are superior over others. One group of individuals has to be stronger than the other group in both Darwinism and racism. This is because there is a struggle for survival in both and only one group wins in the struggle. Another relationship between Darwinism and racism is competition. In Darwinism, an individual has to compete with other individuals in order to emerge a winner. This emanates from the struggle to acquire resources and maintain social status. In this case, the individuals with superior qualities survive at the expense of weak individuals. Similarly, in racism, individuals who are superior to others end up winning the conflicts caused by competition for resources (Bonilla-Silva 2010, p. 97). Darwinism and racism have led to misuse of power since individuals feel superior to others in the same society. For example, because of racism, individuals have misused power to discriminate against the inferior groups (Reilly & Kaufman 2003, p. 68). This may be successful through the use of force by the powerful group to occupy regions that seem rich in resources. In Darwinism, this may happen where individuals in power use their positions to acquire wealth or resources. Use of corruption by individuals in power to acquire resources at the expense of the inferior individuals can be considered as misuse of power (Reilly & Kaufman 2003, p. 70). A relationship between Darwinism and racism exists since Darwinism supports racism. Although Darwinism opposes slavery, it supports natural selection. By supporting natural selection, Darwinism supports racial discrimination and conflicts among races. Darwinism goes further to support the fact that inferior races will face elimination in their struggle for survival. This fully supports racial discrimination, which relates to racism (Memmi 2000, p. 47). Both Darwinism and racism present human abilities; Darwinism encourages the superior group to continue surviving at the expense of the inferior group. For example, this happens in education where the qualified and experienced individuals continue to grab job opportunities at the expense of the unqualified individuals. In addition, the rich continue getting rich at the cost of the poor. Racism presents human ability in terms of superiority. According to racism, individuals with immense abilities continue to reign over the inferior (Fluehr-Lobban 2006, p.87). Conclusion Darwinism believes in individuals controlling their own way of living, without the intervention of the government. According to Darwinism, the rich should keep on getting rich while the underprivileged will remain poor. It is through the natural selection that only a few individuals benefit while the larger population remains disadvantaged. Although individuals compete in a struggle, only the strong individuals end up surviving at the expense of the weak. According to racism, some racial groups appear superior to others on the basis of skin color. A relationship between Darwinism and racism exists since Darwinism supports racism. This is evident since Darwinism opposes slavery, but supports natural selection. By supporting natural selection, Darwinism supports racial discrimination and conflicts among races. In both racism and Darwinism, there has to emerge a group or a class of individuals who are superior over others. Therefore, one group of individuals has to be stronger than the other group in both Darwinism and racism. References List Bonilla-Silva, E. (2010). Racism without Racists: color-blind racism and the persistence of racial discrimination, Plymouth, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc. p. 97-98. Carroll, J. (2003). On the origin of species by means of natural selection, New York, Joseph Carroll. p. 92. Dickens, P. (2000). Social Darwinism: linking evolutionary thought to social theory, London, Open University Press. p. 54-56. Fredrickson, M. G. (2003). Racism: a short history, London, Routledge. p. 35-38. Fluehr-Lobban, C. (2006). Race and Racism: an introduction, Oxford, Altamira Press. p. 86-87. Jennings, J. & Cashmore, E. (2001). Racism: essential readings, London, SAGE Publications Ltd. p. 27-28. Memmi, A. (2000). Racism, Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press. p. 47-49. Reilly, K. & Kaufman, S. (2003). Racism: a global reader, New York, M.E. Sharpe Inc. p. 68-70. Thakur, A. (2005). The Legacy of Social Darwinism, New Delhi, Global Vision Publishing House. Wallace, A. (2007). Darwinism: an exposition of the theory of natural selection with some of its applications, New York, Cosimo Inc. Read More