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paleontology and biochemical sys- propagate their kind. No one who has at-
tems. 123 tended to the breeding of domestic ani-
mals will doubt that this must be highly
injurious to the race of man. 125
Descent of Man, the In his book, Darwin ascribed the sa-
(Charles Darwin) me status to Negroes, native Australians,

In this book, published in 1871, and gorillas after which he predicted that
Charles Darwin suggested that apes and these would gradually be eliminated by
human beings shared a common ances- “civilised races”:
tor and that the two species had gradu- At some future period, not very distant as
ally diverged under the effect of envi- measured by centuries, the civilised ra-
ronmental conditions. At the same time, ces of man will almost certainly extermi-
Darwin also made a number of inferen- nate, and replace the savage races thro-
ces regarding “the evident inequality ughout the world. At the same time the
between human races”. 124 anthropomorphous apes . . . will no do-
ubt be exterminated. The break between
According to the views that Darwin
man and his nearest allies will then be
stated in his book, human races repre-
wider, for it will intervene between man
sented different stages of evolution, and
in a more civilised state, as we may hope,
some races had evolved and progressed
even than the Caucasian, and some ape
further than others. Some were still more as low as a baboon, instead of as now
or less at the level of apes. In his book between the negro or Australian and the
Darwin maintain that these inferior races gorilla. 126
should be eliminated. And that there was
Ever since Darwinism was first put
no need for developed human beings to
forward, it has represented the main sup-
strive to maintain them and protect
posedly scientific basis for racism. Dar-
them. He compared this situation with
winism, which assumes that living
that of livestock breeders:
things evolve through a fight for survi-
With savages, the weak in body or mind val, was applied to entire societies, the
are soon eliminated; and those that sur-
result being the scientific movement
vive commonly exhibit a vigorous state of
known as Social Darwinism. (See Social
health. We civilised men, on the other
Darwinism.) According to Darwin, the
hand, do our utmost to check the process
duty of “civilised” individuals was to ac-
of elimination; we build asylums for the
celerate this evolutionary process and to
imbecile, the maimed, and the sick; we
ensure the elimination of backward races
institute poor-laws; and our medical men
that were, in any case, condemned to di-
exert their utmost skill to save the life of
every one to the last moment. . . . Thus sappear. (See Darwinism and Racism.)
the weak members of civilised societies Indeed, the racist and discriminatory
THE EVOLUTION IMPASSE I