Meanings of Social Darwinism

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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.