Meanings of Social Darwinism

The paper explores the historiographical implications of defining social Darwinism, distinguishing between it as an independent worldview and as an application of Darwin's theories. It uses Hawkins as a representative of the latter perspective, despite his claims of independence from Darwin. The analysis includes a review of Hofstadter's classification of Carnegie as a social Darwinist and a detailed examination of Carnegie's essays. The paper concludes by addressing the significance of these differing definitions in historical narratives.