Social Darwinism and its Impact on Argentina and the World

Posted on Dec 17, 2024 in History

Argentina and the World: Social Darwinism (1880-Today)

From the 19th century, a new ideology of social character emerged, gaining strength between 1890 and 1945. It went into crisis in 1960 and, despite its exhaustion, still lingers. The permanence of this concept is shown in some expressions, such as: “You have mosquito brain,” “do not have half a brain,” “What do you expect if the father was a drunk?”, etc.

The ideology presumes intellectual superiority or inferiority by virtue of hereditary, anthropological, or acquired characteristics.

This ideology formed when the failure of the French Revolution led to the sovereigns and rulers to despise and persecute Liberalism, known by the name of “restoration” or politically, “Holy Alliance.” The revolution was seen as a utopia, and its liberal principles as a pure theory without practical applications.

Liberals tried to prove that the liberal theory was true, focusing on sciences and nature. Herbert Spencer (1820) studied nature to see if it supported liberal principles. For example, Spencer proved scientifically that the liberal principle of “Survival of the fittest” was given in nature, as was “Adapting to the environment.”

Spencer’s influence extended throughout his life and was given greater influence in the U.S. His work was continued in the biological field by Charles Darwin, author of “Theory of Evolution of Species.” Darwin set out the principles of adaptation to the environment and heredity. Meanwhile, a group of Belgian and French doctors raided anthropometric studies, discovering three types of human skull:

  • brachycephalic
  • mesocephalic
  • dolichocephalic

The “phrenologists” tried to associate skull characteristics with intelligence levels, absurdly concluding that brachycephalic individuals were smarter due to more brain mass. This led to the idea of the “mosquito brain.” These men measured the skulls of leaders to assess their worth.

Friedrich Ratzel, a geographer, founded “Human Geography” (1856), also known as “Anthropogeography.” He classified human species into:

  • white
  • yellow race
  • black
  • red race

He inadvertently became the father of racism. He placed the origin of the yellow race in the Arctic Circle, the black race in Ecuador, and the white race between the tropics and the Arctic Circle. Phrenological principles combined with Ratzel’s findings led to the conclusion that the yellow and black races were brachycephalic, while the white race was cephalic. This led to the false conclusion that the white race was superior.

Social Darwinism: Media and Heritage

Social Darwinism is the opposite of social determinism and social conditioning. Federico Gregorio Mendel, the father of genetics, concluded the “three laws of inheritance” and established dominant and recessive traits. Darwin believed that animals in water developed fins, gills, and scales, which is incorrect. It is also incorrect to believe that heredity is an immutable factor determined by genes. Each individual has unique genetic information, mutations, and alterations inherited from previous generations.

Ratzel did not understand that skin color is simply due to the area where the human species lived. This delusional thinking culminated in the work of Caesar Lombroso and Friedrich Nietche.

  • Lombroso: In 1887, he published “Criminal Anthropology.” He theorized that criminals were born criminals, with criminality in their genes. He studied criminals anthropologically, looking for a common pattern, and concluded that physical features indicated criminal tendencies. This led to sayings like “do not have half a brain, low forehead.”
  • Nietche: He concluded that there are only two kinds of men:
  • Lion-Men: The minority, born to rule.
  • Lamb-Men: Born to obey.

This theory of leadership helped the process of natural selection.

This ideology of Social Darwinism reached the whole world, becoming very influential in the United States. In 1930, the Waldorf hosted the “Festival of the Million,” for entrepreneurs who had earned a million dollars the previous year. They would light cigars with hundred-dollar bills, believing that giving money to the poor slowed the process of natural selection. Some believed that improving the living conditions of the poor could improve human quality.

At the end of the century, “Liberal reformers” wanted to keep liberalism but avoid its mistakes. In England, the Labour Party was formed in 1892. The First World War had dire consequences but also some benefits, such as the liberation of women. Women took the place of men in the workforce during the war. When the war ended, women continued to work, smoke, and drink in public, and adopted simpler clothing. The world experienced a population explosion in the 1920s, leading to unruly masses. In a Europe devastated by war, totalitarian models emerged, based on the concept of lion and lamb men:

  • Benito Mussolini (Italy)
  • Hitler (Germany)
  • Salazar (Portugal)
  • Franco (Spain)
  • Petain (France)
  • Stalin (USSR)
  • Roosevelt (USA)

The individual was subordinate to the state, and the state was everything. This was the great evil of World War, creating totalitarian systems. Results:

  • Overpopulation
  • Governments overwhelmed
  • Democratic systems failed, leading to totalitarian systems.

These governments fell into the hands of sick minds like Hitler, who used Social Darwinism to justify eliminating Jews, blacks, and slaves. In the 1960s, the “French May” youth movement erupted, arguing to end the decadent world.

Jean Paul Sartre was the father of existentialism. The 19th and 20th centuries saw a large influence of technical and scientific progress, called “Positivism.” Positivists aimed at improving the quality of human life. They believed that knowledge should be useful. They also believed in “indefinite progress,” thinking that more knowledge would eliminate wars and poverty. Alfred Nobel, a scientist, invented dynamite to avoid deaths in mines. He felt remorse when his discovery was used for evil and gave his money to people who made a beneficial contribution to mankind.

Positivists were based on Augusto Comte. They were atheists and created a parallel religion, with a positive calendar dedicated to personalities of science and art. They created “Sociology,” the mother of all sciences. They gave much importance to the First Industrial Revolution (1770-1820), but its progress was limited by the use of wood. The problem was that iron could not melt at the time. In the mid-20th century, a German developed the Bessemer “blast furnace,” which allowed for the smelting of iron. This led to the Second Industrial Revolution, also called “The era of machines that make machines.”

  • The first application of steel was to bridge the gap, for now the use of steel on the train to the tracks.
  • Secondly, to build bridges. Shrinks the territory.
  • Allowed to take the boats with steel plates

The world shrank in size due to the development of transport.

Transport development was a contraction of the planet. The Titanic was the first to have three classes: high, medium, and low. Comfort and speed favored the development of capitalism. In 1900, Argentine businessmen could afford to travel to Europe. In 1907, Argentina was the 4th country in the world and the 3rd largest producer of wheat. The company at that time was a society where capital is badly divided, just in 1900 we began to see that is forming the middle class in Argentina.

The palace “San Martín,” Anchorena palace built in Plaza San Martín. This palace ended up being owned by a single person was a baby and sold it to the state currency. In front of him is the Military Circle, then Palace “Gaines-Paz,” Gaines was the owner of the newspaper press, comprising an entire city block, had 95 people attend service for 4. The National Museum of Decorative Art, a former palace “Errázuriz-Alvear, was half a block. The family only spends 6 months in Buenos Aires, buenos aires live in 6 months of work, when the summer heat is not gonna go to Europe, fucking cold, the 3-month summer stay. Then called the tram and asked them to tie the 2 cars on your property.

Mary Harilaos elm was a girl who was born in Cordoba, married at age 14 with the governor of Cordoba and was widowed at 19. She was Spanish for a very good family, an orphan, grew up in Paris, Olmos was 73 years. He left everything to the church and was papal Marquise.

In Argentina, there was a lack of the concept of one country. Argentina was just a bunch of provinces governed by Buenos Aires. When Sarmiento conveyed the nation’s presidency to Nicolás Avellaneda in 1874, the election was again the power of the president of the nation to a provincial, that did not like the locals. They called it “taco” because a dwarf and wore platform shoes. Bartolomé Mitre, from Buenos Aires, decided to make a revolution against Avellaneda. The constitution of 53 was an indirect electoral system. The people chose voters, and voters were free to choose the president and the vice. Sarmiento was elected. Mitre tried to make life miserable for Avellaneda and not let it take when voters decided they were president, because he could not bribe, he learned that the Avellaneda had bribed voters with more money than he could bribe. He decided that the only option was to make a revolution in Avellaneda, and it did the Revolution of 1874, there was sufficient support for military and then fails miter, miter and his followers all go to prison. And this is how Avellaneda took office in the country.

Avellaneda showed his vanity, the following year in 1875 Avellaneda is what will be known as PAN final that starts with an “Agreement of Notables” is a gathering of heads of power, bringing together the sectors that can handle . Vs Autonomist Nationalist Party, then we agree, was born the National Autonomist Party instead of being confronted, unite if we all want the same thing. Immediately released Mitre Avellaneda and his followers joined the PAN because they are part of the national party. How does the NAP? The PAN operates as follows: first is the remarkable agreement, the powerful meet regularly in social spaces such as “Club del Progreso”, “Hockey Club”, “Sociedad Rural Argentina”, “Military Circle, Circle of arms “places of high society. Buenos Aires in terms of power is inbred, it means that everyone exercising power are all related, second cousins, third, fourth, distant uncles, etc.

The remarkable agreement when it came to a decision, we conveyed to the Executive, these were the real sectors of the management of power: the executive branch and the PLN, they did and undid what they wanted. Deputies are for the nation and the senators in the provinces, they received direct orders from President’s Office, all deputies in the congress received direct orders from the executive and did whatever they wanted. The executive is the elected provincial governors, and they are the ones who appoint the senators who go to Congress. On top to elect the deputies, the choice is “Complete List”: the people vote for candidates for deputies, but the party that wins the majority takes all the charges. On top of if he could rule the people, still use the Electoral Fraud: bribery of voters, voting the dead, change the polls or if they knew that a group hired wanted to vote against picketing to prevent them from reaching polling stations. There were few who dared to go to vote, no sense, fewer and fewer people trying to go, bringing the PAN won the elections. This is the regime, because they did what they wanted.

Avellaneda had managed to pacify internal policy and Argentina, because now with the corrupt one and people could protest whatever it is banking. But one of the major problems that had our country was the “mono-production,” Argentina in 1810.20 lived:

  • The export of leather that was used for the transmission belts of machine movement of the factories. It was invented in 1830, “Transmission chain, operates like the bicycle.
  • The second wealth is wool, the “cycle of sheep.” The sheep when eating boots, then you still only land is eroding badly.
  • By 1875 we have refrigerated ships, we can export beef. With which we began to think of the lamb first, then beef for export from our country to Europe. Sheep and cows can not live in the same field, you have to take the sheep from the province of Buenos Aires to Patagonia but in Patagonia are the Indians.

Argentine Territory

Until then the 40 to 80 was wool, greasy wool first, sent to Europe to be washed and processed. Subsequently sends pure wool and started to see the need to vary the production, not stay in this thing productive mono annihilated all grasses. For this reason it became necessary to have land to move the sheep from the pampas to those areas of Patagonia and the cow will remain in the pampas. The Patagonian territory had not been incorporated into the territory of Argentina, when comparing the two territories each other (coastal and inland) found that their geographical realities are opposite and that this will give rise to a dispute between federal and unitary.

Specific features:

  • Coastal Bs.As: Liberal Economics
  • Terrain: Plain
  • Climate: warm temperate
  • Wet
  • Permanent rivers and waterways
  • Abundant and regular rains
  • Interior: Conservative Economics
  • Terrain: Mountains
  • Climate: Continental
  • Seca
  • Seasonal rivers are not navigable
  • Seasonal rainfall, poor and rich

The campaign in the desert is from 1878 to 1879 balls because desert people lived there, the Indians. The policy hitherto followed the Indian was to bribe them not to do raids, but gave no result, when the Indians had quilombo did his with the raids. When they take the cattle raids, to sell to ranchers in southern Chile. There is a conflict between the white and the Indian government, which leverages our confrontations between white to make these raids, steal wealth and sell it to others. When no quilombo bribed Indians to pay them money, ponchos, leather, miscellaneous products, everything we needed, we pay them not to do raids.There are many different tribes, all are from Argentina, but it has already fallen into the hands of an indigenous group whose origin is from Argentina, who are the bad araucanos called “Mapuche” are of Brazilian origin, then left for the north to Argentina After Mendoza, Chile and then went down to the Patagonia. The maximum Araucanian chief Lautaro called the Cacique (hence the Lautaro Lodge of San Martín). Crossed southern Chile to southern Argentina and conquered all the Indians to confront whites.

When Avellaneda succeeded in solving the problem of opposing parties, the PAN, move to the sheep and take it to Patagonia. It turns out that Avellaneda was appointed Minister Adolfo Alsina, the autonomy, is the minister of war of Avellaneda, Roca was barely here the frontier army commander of Rio Cuarto.

Alsina then launches a project that is to continue bribing the Indian but building a wall against Indians in Indian Territory separate the white, is known as the “Trench Alsina, Roca whole project when he sent a letter telling him seem far-fetched, keeps getting more tense relationship between them. Roca called the “Great Wall of China Argentina.”

Fortunately for Rock, died suddenly Alsina Avellaneda in 1877 and called him to Rock and became Minister of War.

Alsina said, dig a ditch and earth we got from here, we put aside as the wall, put inside the trench rods driven into the ground tacuara. And he thinks that the Indian can not pass; near a canyon a few miles we fortinero to see if a raid was coming. The Indians killed cattle, they cut off the head and dumped in the ditch, to assemble a small mountain pass, up to the horse and jump on the other side. A small group of Indians attacked the fort, the cannon sounds fortinero and that’s the moment where the Indians go on the other hand, loot and come back, kill cows on the side of the whites and return to their place.

Avellaneda tells Rocky that the wall does not work, let’s save what we spend in bribes and I assure you that with that money I make an army and they step on top. Fail to pay the Indian. Rock sends scientists figure out how it is possible that the Indian between the Pampas and the Patagonian territory traveling many miles to enter the wet Pampa, come without water. Then they found out and found the “big Salinas, where salt has been has been water.

So a small army weapon Roca 1878, which will attack “Salinas Grandes”, never made ​​raids. Rock salt occupying said well now if the campaign seriously, repeats the pattern of roses. The three-column layout with telegraph and rifles did last generation = the shit.

25/05/1879 Rock had managed to conquer all the territory to the Black River, with whom he was the scientists and a photographer “Antonio Pozzo, Italian photographer, landscape photos alone.

All the sheep was moved to Patagonia to Rio Black.

The latest campaign in the Patagonian territory was completed in 1911, with the incorporation of the territory of Tierra del Fuego.

The campaigns of conquest of the territory of the Chaco, beginning in 1892-1919, or is that just in 1920, Argentina is what it is today.

The nationalists, the first arising in 1900, 1920 and have captured much of the population and in 1930 “Fascist Revolution” of Uriburu, harsh criticism of the campaign against the Indians.

The desert campaign was the launching pad for the presidency Rock the nation Rock PAN member

The problem is ending his presidency Avellaneda, Roca having already won the election held earlier than 80, the president issued a decree Avellaneda violation of the Constitution deprives the province of Buenos Aires in its capital city.

In 1880, barely missing 2 months to assume the presidency Roca, Avellaneda issues a decree violating the constitution of 1853 by which the law is void of commitment and declares that the city of Buenos Aires is the capital of Argentina and now Provincial authorities are guests of the Nation.

The governor of the province was Carlos Tejedor, immediately protested this decree, and prepared the military forces of the province to face the national army. In preventing what could happen, Avellaneda moved outside the city of Buenos Aires the seat of the presidency of the nation and Congress, both national executive and legislative powers were to occupy the town of Belgrano Belgrano municipal government. Troops gathered there to face the army of the province, was a Civil War, in which the national army triumphed over the province of Buenos Aires, Carlos Weaver was defeated and deposed as governor. Appointing auditor of the province of Buenos Aires, a friend of Rock, Dr. Dardo Rocha.

The Rock 10.12.1980 assumes the presidency. When I was going to Congress, they throw a piedrazo and enter the conference with all the head bandage. Rock’s first act as president was to give legal form to the illegality of Avellaneda Buenos Aires, capital of the nation. ” Rock wanted the capital Delhi is to have a remote port of Buenos Aires, Rocha wanted a side port of Buenos Aires for competition. Rocha wins “Puerto Berisso-Enssenada” not doing well, still prefer all of Buenos Aires. Francisco Moreno “Perito Moreno”, was a scientist, with Sting came up with founding the university Provincial de la Plata. Rock made ​​of Argentina, an Argentina “modern” in 1880. Designates a “municipal corporation” and designated as his friend President Torcuato de Alvear lasting 6 years. Alvear changed the whole city, built for flood acyl.