Intellectuals at peace with their era found a justification for great wealth and even dubious business ethics in a series of books, essays, and lectures by the British philosopher Herbert Spencer. Because Spencer seemed to apply Charles Darwin's celebrated theory of biological evolution to human society, his philosophy is known as social Darwinism. According to Spencer, as in the world of animals

Question

and plants, where species compete and those best adapted survive, the fittest people rise to the top in the social competition for riches. Eventually, in the dog-eat-dog world, they alone survive. "If they are sufficiently complete to live," Spencer wrote, "they do live, and it is well that they should live. If they are not sufficiently complete to live, they die and it is best that they should die." The tough-mindedness of social Darwinism made Spencer immensely popular among American businessmen who were as proud of their practicality as of their success. An Englishman, Spencer was never as celebrated in his own country as he was in the United States. Although a vain man, he was mortified by the adulation heaped on him at banquets sponsored by American academics and rich businessmen. Social Darwinism accounted for brutal business practices and underhanded methods with a shrug, justifying them as "natural," the law of the jungle. The language of social Darwinism crept into the vocabulary of businessmen and politicians who represented business interests. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. described the growth of a large business as "the survival of the fittest." But neither he nor many other American millionaires were true social Darwinists. The very ruthlessness of the theory—"Nature, red in tooth and claw"—made it unpalatable to men and women like the Rockefellers, who, in their personal lives, were deeply committed to traditional religious values. Moreover, businessmen are rarely intellectuals, and Spencer's philosophy and writing style were as murky as crude oil. Understanding him demanded careful study, for which businessmen rarely had time. Spencer's explanation of the new society was most influential among intellectuals who wanted to snuggle up to the rich. The purpose of the passage is to

a. tell the steps in the development of social Darwinism.
b. categorize and classify the ideas of various British philosophers.
c. describe social Darwinism and its effects upon American business practices.
d. contrast the theory of biological evolution with social Darwinism.

Answer 1

c