Darwinism, social

In US history, an influential but contentious social theory, based on the work of Charles Darwin and Herbert Spencer, which claimed to offer a scientific justification for late 19th-century laissez-faire capitalism (the principle of unrestricted freedom in commerce).

Popularized by academics and by entrepreneurs such as Andrew Carnegie, social Darwinism was used to legitimize competitive individualism and a market economy unregulated by government; it argued that only the strong and resourceful businesses and individuals would thrive in a free environment.