William Graham Sumner's Social Darwinism: A Reconsideration

Bannister, Robert C.

doi:10.1215/00182702-5-1-89

Cited by 17 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…The latter gave a specific meaning to social Darwinism (Bannister, 1973), in particular emphasizing a strong connection Accordingly, Hofstadter The distance with Spencer and social Darwinism that Darwin seems cautious to put forward illustrates the difference that exists between his theory of biological evolution and his theory of social evolution, which we found in particular exposed in the Descent of Man. In effect, although he was convinced that "man was part of the #0521 evolutionary process" and therefore that his theory was likely to apply to animals and to man also 4 That the group is the target of social evolution does not mean that social evolution does not rest on "natural selection"; however, the role of this principle is complemented by other factors such as moral sentiments and, more precisely, on sympathy:…”

Section: Richard Hofstadter's Influential and Much Read Social Darwinmentioning

confidence: 76%

Economists on Darwin's theory of social evolution and human behaviour

Marciano¹

2007

The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought

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Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in AbstractThe purpose of this article is to analyse the way economists interested in social and economic evolution cite, mention or refer to Darwin. We focus on the attitude of economists towards Darwin's theory of social evolution -an issue he considered as central to his theory. We show that economists refer to and mention Darwin as a biologist and neglect or ignore his theory of social and cultural evolution. Three types of reference are identified: first, economists view and quote Darwin as having borrowed concepts from classical political economists, Malthus and Smith. Darwin is then mentioned to emphasize the existence of economic theories of social evolution. Second, economists refer to and cite Darwin from the perspective of the use of biological concepts in social sciences. Darwin's biological theories are then equated with those of Spencer. From these two perspectives, Darwin's theory of social evolution is ignored and Darwin considered as a biologist exclusively. Third, economists acknowledge the existence of Darwin's general (biological and social) theory of evolution. Darwin is then considered and quoted as a biologist and a social evolutionist.

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Section: Richard Hofstadter's Influential and Much Read Social Darwinmentioning

confidence: 76%

Economists on Darwin's theory of social evolution and human behaviour

Marciano¹

2007

The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought

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“…The reasons are understandable. Some early sociologists supported social Darwinism (Bannister 1973), which was in turn used to justify the racist policies of the German Third Reich. Postwar sociology, hence, attempted to steer clear of any discussion of biological foundations, a tendency only reinforced by the continued attempts to give pseudoscientific foundations to antisemitism in Europe and discrimination against blacks in the United States (Degler 1991).…”

Section: A Brief Historical Perspective Of the Fieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review Essay onSocial Neuroscience: Can Research on the Social Brain and Economics Inform Each Other?

Alós–Ferrer

2018

Journal of Economic Literature

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Social neuroscience studies the “social brain,” conceived as the set of brain structures and functions supporting the perception and evaluation of the social environment. This article provides an overview of the field, using the book Social Neuroscience: Brain, Mind, and Society (Russell K. Schutt, Larry J. Seidman, and Matcheri S. Keshavan, editors) as a starting point. Topics include the evolution of the social brain, the concept of “theory of mind,” the relevant brain networks, and documented failures of the social brain. I argue that social neuroscience and economics can greatly benefit from each other because the social brain underlies interpersonal decision making, as studied in economics. (JEL D11, D71, D87, Z13)

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“…Sumner objected to government intervention because the result was the worst of all monopolies, the purpose of which was the exploitation of others (Sumner 1924, p. 227). He believed that the German historical school was attracting a generation of American economists away from the truth (Bannister 1973). 5 The German historical school favored an extensive welfare state that required a sacrifice of personal liberty (Sumner 1924, p. 268).…”

Section: William Graham Sumner and Yalementioning

confidence: 99%

Eugene Meyer and the German Influence on the Origin of Us Federal Financial Rescues

Butkiewicz

2015

J Hist Econ Thought

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While federal fi nancial rescues have become a common response to crises, the federal provision of fi nance was not one of the original powers of the federal government. One man, Eugene Meyer, is largely responsible for the origin of federal fi nancial rescues, through both the War Finance Corporation and Reconstruction Finance Corporation. Meyer learned laissez-faire economics from William Graham Sumner at Yale. However, German economist Adolph Wagner's state-socialism philosophy heavily infl uenced Meyer's thinking, andMeyer developed an interventionist philosophy. Serving in key government positions, Meyer put his beliefs into practice. These channels of infl uence and the resulting policies are examined.

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William Graham Sumner's Social Darwinism: A Reconsideration

Cited by 17 publications

References 0 publications

Economists on Darwin's theory of social evolution and human behaviour

Economists on Darwin's theory of social evolution and human behaviour

A Review Essay onSocial Neuroscience: Can Research on the Social Brain and Economics Inform Each Other?

Eugene Meyer and the German Influence on the Origin of Us Federal Financial Rescues

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