It is no secret that Darwin's theory of natural selection and evolution, set forth in The Origin of Species, has been applied to social theory, giving origin of social Darwinism. But are we right in believing that Social Darwinism is simply an excerpt of evolutionary theory, the extrapolation of an impartial scientific treatise, or could the ideas contained in The Origin of Species be influenced by a pre-existing social theory? Darwin may actually have had an imperialist social program in mind, that is, an incipient form of social Darwinism, when he wrote his famous book, as evidenced by his deliberate choice of ambiguous language that can allude to social relationships as well as natural ones. In numerous passages in The Origin of Species, Darwin uses terminology that could refer to plants or animals in nature, but which could also refer to humans in society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Darwin believes that the goal of any species is to continue its existence; a species can only do this by evolving, adapting in response to changes in the environment. Darwin's evolutionary theory can be briefly summarized in five principles: overpopulation, variation, competition or struggle for survival, survival of the fittest and heredity. He argues that each species tends to overpopulate or, in other words, produce too many offspring to be supported by the resources of a given region. The result of overpopulation is that individuals must compete with other individuals of the same species, with individuals of other species, and with natural forces for food, shelter, mates, and so on. Each species also exhibits a variety of traits, so, according to Darwin, individuals who possess traits better adapted to survival in their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce, thus passing those favorable traits on to their offspring. In this way, nature will select the most adapted individuals and allow them to reproduce, so that, over time, an entire species will display favorable or adaptable traits. Changes in the environment, such as climate change or the immigration of foreign species, will cause a given species to adapt, evolve, over time to accommodate such changes. Darwin's writing oscillates between passages describing general ideas and passages providing illuminating examples. It is in the first that Darwin occasionally uses language referring ambiguously to animals in nature or to humans in society. Take for example this passage: For in all countries the natives have hitherto been conquered by naturalized productions, which have enabled foreigners to take firm possession of the land. And as the foreigners everywhere beat some of the natives, we may safely conclude that the natives might have been modified to advantage, so as to better resist such intruders. Darwin 132Is this a passage from a scientific treatise or a passage from a racist imperialist manifesto? Out of context, it's hard to say definitively. Darwin's terms "native," "foreign," and "intruders" may refer to groups of plants or animals, but they could just as easily refer to groups of people, even specific groups. "Foreigners", for example, could be Europeans or, even more specifically, English. Natives, therefore, could be any group conquered by the English, such as Indians or Africans. The assumption that native Africans “allowed” the English to take possession of their land, or that Africans would..