The Effect Of William Graham Sumner's Views On Social Darwinism

William Graham Sumner explained his view on social Darwinism through an excerpt that was displayed in a collection of essays in 1914. This accusatory text was written in the 1880s and was directed toward the poor people of America. However, he did not see them as less fortunate, which is often used synonymously with the word poor. To be unfortunate means to be unlucky; these poor citizens were put in this position by their own faults. According to Sumner, it was not a matter of luck, but a matter of work ethic and genealogy. He was a sociologist at Yale University during the Gilded Age, which was a time of industrial advancement and business competition. The Gilded Age was a time of progression for America, but there were drawbacks as well; one being
If he was poor, he would understand that it is not always a choice to live this way, and sometimes people are judged too harshly, preventing them from becoming financially successful. He is a major part of America’s judgment problem and would not be able to withstand the other end of it. Social Darwinism was the belief that desirable and undesirable traits, such as intelligence and work ethic, were determined by that person’s genetic makeup. For example, if a person’s parents were poor, they were destined to be poor as well. While this idea is true to the extent that you may learn from your parents’ example, this is not logical in a literal sense. Sumner believed that people deserved their poverty status because they failed to do the work required to gain wealth. He argues that the wealthy sharing their money with the poor would devalue the rights and morals of the US by giving a reward to those who contribute nothing to society. Competition and motivation would be lost if people who do not make an effort receive the same prize as those who do. This is a valid idea, but is not applicable to everyone who is