Question

Yale University professor William Graham Sumner was an advocate of social Darwinism. Sumner said, “The aggregation of large fortunes is not at all a thing to be regretted, on the contrary, it is a necessary condition of many forms of social advance…. Millionaires are the product of natural selection.” The Salvation Army advocated the Social Gospel. Author Charles M. Sheldon asked his readers to consider “What would Jesus do?” in regard to society’s problems. Explain the difference between social Darwinism and the Social Gospel.
What did each school of thought advocate in terms of social policies?

What actions did each believe the government or individuals should take?

Answer 1

To answer your first question, social darwinism is a theory that supports the rich getting richer. Republican party is based around this theory. Since they believe that those who are the fittest get the money, there is no reason to help the poor, because that is their fault. We can also attach to this the theory of mercantilism where everyone get what they truly deserve. On the other hand, social gospel movement is a christian movement that wanted to help the poor based on christian values. This movement applied christian ethics to social problems such as poverty, delinquency, racism, child labor and so on.