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Essay / Ideas of Social Darwinism in the White Man's Burden by Rudyard Kipling
Social Darwinism is an ideology that emerged between 1865 and 1900 and was developed by Charles Darwin. Social Darwinism has been used significantly to encourage human competition, as this would contribute to the evolution of human society. Charles Darwin used Social Darwinism to justify his political, social, and economic views. Its popular saying “survival of the fittest” means that the strongest and strong survive in society while the weak and unfit die. This is how he viewed life. He believed that the rich and powerful are better suited to live in this world and therefore it was their responsibility to exercise dominion over the lesser races because nature was the factor that brought them to where they are. He believed that the weakest are where they are because they are intellectual and morally inferior. Thus, Social Darwinism has been used to justify various unfortunate behaviors that occurred in the past, such as underpaying workers, colonialism, imperialism, social inequality, and racism. Indeed, Charles Darwin believed that the use of Social Darwinism would prevent inferior races or groups from producing offspring like themselves, which could degrade the entire population. Social Darwinism was heavily criticized because many people believed it played an important role in the Nazi and Soviet regimes. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayThe poem “The White Man's Burden” written by Kipling in 1899 encourages colonization because of the benefits it brings , like civilization. Kipling urges the United States to take control and rule over the Philippians, just as the British took control of the Indians and Africans. He is confident that this will help empower the less fortunate and poorer people, helping and guiding them towards economic and social development. Kipling believed that the white man was superior and therefore it was his responsibility to help the weaker race and poorer nations. Kipling emphasizes the importance of white supremacy and domination. He thought it was important for the white man to colonize all people of color because it would make them more civilized. Yet he calls this responsibility a “burden,” because it is the white man’s duty to care for other races. In the poem, Kipling belittled the people and represented them as "a sullen people, half devil and half child" (Kipling, 2009, Para 1) because this was the perception of what the imperialist felt when he saw the people for the first time. He also said that after all the work the white man has done for them, the colonized people will return to their old ways. He said: “And when your goal is nearest, when the end for others is sought, watch sloth and pagan folly destroy all your hope.” I believe he thought that the colonized would not appreciate what “the white man” had done for them. In one of his verses he declares: "The cry of the host frees us from the bondage of our beloved Egyptian night." (Kipling, 2009, Para 5), he felt this because he saw them as "sullen" and resistant to colonization. However, despite all of this, he still believes that the white man should take control because it would spread more civilized behavior among the natives and the white man would get the accolades of civilization. There have been some ethnocentrisms that have occurred in this.