Topic > Ideas of Social Darwinism in the White Man's Burden by Rudyard Kipling

Social Darwinism is an ideology developed between 1865 and 1900 and developed by Charles Darwin. Social Darwinism has been used significantly to encourage human competition because this will help the evolution of human society. Charles Darwin used Social Darwinism to justify his political, social and economic views. His popular saying "survival of the fittest" means that the strongest and fittest survive in society while the weak and unfit perish was the way he saw life. He believed that the rich and powerful were more suited and 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 weak are where they are because they are intellectual and morally inferior. Therefore, Social Darwinism has been used to justify several unfortunate behaviors that occurred in the past, such as underpaying workers, colonialism, imperialism, social inequalities, and racism. This is because Charles Darwin believed that the use of Social Darwinism would prevent inferior races or groups from producing descendants like themselves which could degrade the entire population. Social Darwinism was highly criticized because many people believed it played an important role in the Nazis and Soviets. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The poem “The White Man's Burden,” written by Kipling in 1899, encourages colonization because of the benefits it brings, such as civilization. Kipling urges the United States to take control and rule over the Filipinos just as the English took control over the Indians and Africans. He believed that this would help empower less fortunate and poor people, helping and guiding them towards economic and social development. Kipling believed that the white man was superior, so it was their responsibility to help the weaker race and poorer nations. Kipling emphasizes the importance of white supremacy and domination. He felt that it was important for the white man to colonize all people of color because doing so would make them more civilized. However, he calls this responsibility a “burden” because it is the white man's duty to take care of other races. In the poem Kipling belittled the people and represented them as “gloomy people, half devil and half child” (Kipling, 2009, paragraph 1) because this was the perception of how the imperialists felt when they first saw the people. He also stated that after all the work done by the white man for them, the colonized peoples will return to their old ways. He stated, “And when your goal is nearer, the end for others sought, watch sloth and pagan madness bring all your hope to naught.” I believe he thought that the colonized will not appreciate what the “white man” has done for them. In one of his verses he stated: "The cry of you hosts us from the slavery of our beloved Egyptians night." (Kipling, 2009, paragraph 5), he felt this way because he considered them “gloomy” and resistant to colonization. However, with all this, he still believes that the white man should take control because doing so will spread more civilized behavior among the natives and the white man will receive the praise for civility. There were some ethnocentrisms that occurred in this poem. According to All about Philosophy (2019), “ethnocentrism is the idea that a particular ethnic group is somehow superior to all others.” In the poem a few times Kipling suggested that white men were.