Ever since the days of Richard Hofstadter, one of the Left’s favorite accusations to hurl against its enemies has been that of ‘Social Darwinism’. According to the Left, those who question them want the poor, underprivileged, and weak to die. According to the Left, those who dissent from leftist orthodoxy believe that those who are socio-economically successful are better people who have always and entirely earned their success and that the suffering of the poor is natural justice. Cue the out-of-context, truncated quotes from Herbert Spencer.

At this time, however, Social Darwinism is no longer spurned by the elite progressive Left. Rather, this section of the Left embraces and even celebrates Social Darwinism. This is a Social Darwinism built upon a bizarre mélange-or-exaggeration of the works of (among others) Richard Florida and Charles Murray (despite the fact that the latter is a libertarian, not a progressive), and resembles a freshman-level caricature of Ayn Rand. This is a Social Darwinism built on credentialism, the equation of credentials with IQ, the belief that urban elites are genetically superior, and the hope that fentanyl knocks off the Republican-voting Hillbillies (or the National-Front-voting non-Parisians, etc). It is a Social Darwinism with no mercy for the Left’s previous client demographics. It is a Social Darwinism many who call themselves ‘socialist’ embrace.

Let us begin by noticing many pieces exist about the role that ‘resentment’ plays in contemporary politics, particularly on the political ‘right’. For example, Tom Nichols’ article in The Atlantic. Another example can be found in Claudia Wallis’ interview with Katherine Cramer published in Scientific American. Edward Lempinen, writing for Berkley News, interviews Lawrence Rosenthal about Rosenthal’s new book which comes to the same conclusion. It is true that all of these sources have an establishment-Left (and elite-Left) bias, but they are not wrong in arguing that resentment is an important emotion on the political Right.

But what is resentment? To quote Rosenthal, ‘Resentment is anger directed at people who seem to be above you.’ The contrasting emotion, felt towards those one sees as inferior, is contempt. The contempt displayed by the elite Left is frequently evident. Even Rosenthal openly concedes that this contempt exists, ‘There is a sense, in the liberal world, that those are the backward people.’ As Cramer concurs, ‘People assume folks in small towns are ignorant and racist.’ The above cited articles, unavoidably, and tacitly concede the existence of a new class system. We now proceed to map it out.

The basic principle of this class system is Credentialism. In short, it is a belief that if you have university qualifications from a good school, you’re a genetic elite with a high IQ. Furthermore, you will (or should) experience success in either knowledge-work or the arts. These fields are the ‘real’ and most important/productive fields of human endeavour, and you are to be compensated accordingly so you can live a comfortable inner-city lifestyle. You are part of what Richard Florida calls ‘the creative class’, you’re the real ‘maker’ in this world, and whilst you have politically progressive views that’s just more evidence of your high IQ. Only morons would disagree with you.

Hence smug remarks about ‘red states’ in the USA receiving more federal funds than ‘blue states’.

The less fortunate, however? Unless they are a preferred ethnic minority, they are even worse than failures. They squandered all their white privilege. They are perceived as too dumb to get into a good school. They consequently have lower pay, work in lower-prestige fields, and have to live in lower-cost-of-living areas like small towns. And they vote like morons and thugs, holding back progress and making the world a worse place. They are not really the ‘victims’ of society either, but rather indolents sponging off unearned privilege when they aren’t directly inflicting harm. They deserve what they get.

The emotional basis of this ideology is not hard to find. When the working classes (principally in America) began to vote in ways that the technocratic-left-leaning intelligentsia did not like, said intelligentsia began turning against the working classes and against populism in general. Instead, they invested their hope for future change in university students and began crafting theories as to why the working classes were so easily ‘fooled’ (ranging from Frankfurt School and Gramscian Marxist theories to the Republican Brain Hypothesis). An attitude of contempt began to dominate the Left, where the working classes would need to be rescued by their intellectual betters. The emergence of this new Social Darwinism makes it clear that any such rescue is no longer a priority.

Again, the fact this worldview is so reminiscent of the leftist caricature of Ayn Rand is almost funny. Their strawman of Rand is that she believed in a genetically determined class of creative geniuses who were morally and intellectually superior to the mindless masses … that the masses are dead weight at best (and parasites at worst), that this genetic elite are both the creators of and rightful inhabitants of beautiful skyscrapers in city centers, that this elite ultimately deserves to dominate society, and the masses should accept their place and get out of the elite’s way. Whilst this is a strawman of Rand, it seems an apt description of the beliefs of today’s progressive Left – to borrow Rand’s terms, they see themselves as the real ‘men of the mind’ (although they’d complain about the use of ‘men’), the people who vote correctly and are thus held back (and even oppressed) by populism and democracy, the people who should be running things, and ultimately a meritocratic aristocracy. This attitude is so widespread on the Left that even Left-wing opinion websites have admitted it since 2016. And it is time that this attitude be called out for what it is. It is nothing more than an embrace of Social Darwinism.

So the next time some leftist criticises a proposed deregulation, tax reduction or government services reform as ‘Social Darwinism’, remind them that their side has been cheering for Social Darwinism for many years.