Marx and Darwin

August Comte ( )  Positivism- the key to civilization is humanities understanding of the world. 3 Stages  Theological Stage- humans interpreted everything in terms of gods who lived in nature  Metaphysical Stage- people learned through Christianity, to think in more abstract terms  Positive Stage- human understanding becoming scientific.

August Comte ( )  Sociology- a scientific study of human civilization  Established religion would be replaced by a a “religion of humanity”  Inspired rapid development of the social sciences: -economics, political science, anthropology, sociology and psychology

Karl Marx ( )  Communist League - link far flung German Socialist living in exile  The Communist Manifesto (1848) written jointly with Fredrich Engels  Basic statement of ideals of the Communist League

Karl Marx ( ) Communism  Goal – Economic equity  The wealthy (bourgeoisie)would not voluntarily give up wealth  Called for a violent revolution, led by the working class -Proletariat  Identity based on class -No nationalism - No religion  Workers would own the factors of production (land, factories, natural resources)

Karl Marx ( ) Theory of History  All of history from the beginnings of time consists of a class struggle  Society is structured based on the organization of its economy

Karl Marx ( ) Theory of History  Feudalism supplanted by development of bourgeoisie (Middle Class)  Capitalism led to creation of a new working class, the proletariat  Proletariat would arise and overthrow the capitalist  Government created by proletariat would be violent, but would wither away as the result of the elimination of all other classes

Karl Marx ( ) Das Kapital  Analysis of capitalism  Value of a product comes from the labor required to produce it -Capitalist makes a profit by keeping part of the value added by labor -Exploitive of the working class

Karl Marx ( )  Competition forces lower prices, reduced profits -Lower wages to subsistence level - Small producers fail - concentration of capital among wealthy - fewer middle class, larger working class - deprives all but few of property

Karl Marx ( )  Scientific Socialism – using scientific analysis of history and economy  as opposed to utopian socialism of Saint- Simon, Robert Owen and Charles Fourier

Karl Marx ( )  Appeal 1. Provides a method for analyzing society 2. Accepts industrialization as ultimately beneficial while criticizing industrial society. 3. Creates moral judgments without a system of ethics 4. Scientific claim that the workers would ultimately “win”

Charles Darwin  On the Origins of Species (1859)  Provided detailed evidence and explained the mechanism for evolution  “natural selection”  Over times, species that were well adapted would survive, those that were not would die out  Over time, “higher” forms of life emerged

Social Darwinism  The application of Darwin’s ideas to social science.  Used “science” to justify that Europeans were superior to Asians and Africans -Therefore, Europeans should dominate them -Men should dominate women  “science” of Eugenics- Some races/nationalities superior to others. Unfit should be discouraged from breeding

Social Darwinism Herbert Spencer  “survival of the fittest”  Progress was “not an accident, but a necessity”  All things evolved from simplicity to complexity

Social Darwinism  Ideas of Darwin would be used to help justify European Imperialism  “White Man’s Burden”