Differences between social entrepreneur & social darwinist?

Is evolution just another religion?
Does evolution make might right?
by John Wilkins
Copyright © 1997

Summary: Evolution does not have moral consequences, and does not make cosmic purpose impossible.

A number of critics see the use of selection theory in other than biological contexts as forcing malign political and moral commitments. A prime example of this is sociobiology, which is supposed to result in such things as eugenics, racism, and the death of the welfare state. Sociobiology, and the more recent evolutionary psychology movement, seeks to explain human behaviour in terms of the adaptations of human evolution. Gould especially has been vitriolic in his attacks on sociobiological explanations. It is thought by some to result in a completely selfish ethic known as rational egoism.

Another such view is "Social Darwinism", which holds that social policy should allow the weak and unfit to fail and die, and that this is not only good policy but morally right. The only real connection between Darwinism and Social Darwinism is the name. The real source of Social Darwinism is Herbert Spencer and the tradition going back to Hobbes via Malthus, not Darwin's own writings, though Darwin gained some inspiration on the effects of population growth from Malthus.

The claims made by Social Darwinists and their heirs suffer from the ethical fallacy known as "the naturalistic fallacy" (no connection to naturalism in explanations and the study of knowledge mentioned above). This is the inference from what may be the case to the conclusion that it is therefore right. However, while it is certainly true that, for example, some families are prone to suffer diabetes, as mine is, there is no licence to conclude that they should not be treated, any more than the fact that a child has a broken arm from a bicycle accident implies that the child should have a broken arm. David Hume long ago showed that "is" does not imply "ought".

In fact, diverse political and religious opinions characterise social musings based upon evolutionary biology. For example, the 19th century Russian anarchist aristocrat Pyotr Kropotkin wrote a book called Mutual Aid [1902, cf Gould 1992] in which he argued that evolution results more in cooperation than it does in harsh competition. His views are echoed in recent use of games theory to show that, in some cases at least, cooperation is a stable strategy for certain populations to adopt [Axelrod 1984].

Evolutionary theory doesn't exclude Purpose from Life, although it does remove the need for purposive design from a lot of the living realm (ie, all but the genetically engineered bit of the living realm). This apparent confusion is resolved if we ask of evolutionary theory two questions: one, is there a design evident in the structure of living organisms? Two, is there a universal purpose to life in general? Science answers No to the first question. Design is not directly evident in living things, although there is a marvellous complexity and adaptivity of life to its environment. To the second question, science of any kind answers: Insufficient Information. That kind of answer you get elsewhere - from a personal commitment or religious belief in some revelation.

What is a Social Entrepreneur?
What is a Social Entrepreneur?

Ashoka Fellows prove every day that the most powerful force for change in the world is a new idea in the hands of a leading social entrepreneur.
The job of a social entrepreneur is to recognize when a part of society is stuck and to provide new ways to get it unstuck. He or she finds what is not working and solves the problem by changing the system, spreading the solution and persuading entire societies to take new leaps. Social entrepreneurs are not content just to give a fish or teach how to fish. They will not rest until they have revolutionized the fishing industry.

Identifying and solving large-scale social problems requires a social entrepreneur because only the entrepreneur has the committed vision and inexhaustible determination to persist until they have transformed an entire system. The scholar comes to rest when he expresses an idea. The professional succeeds when she solves a clientýs problem. The manager calls it quits when he has enabled his organization to succeed. Social entrepreneurs go beyond the immediate problem to fundamentally change communities, societies, the world.

Ashoka Fellow Veronica Khosa was frustrated with the system of health care in South Africa. A nurse by trade she saw sick people getting sicker, elderly people unable to get to a doctor and hospitals with empty beds that would not admit patients with HIV. So Veronica started Tateni Home Care Nursing Services and instituted the concept of ýhome careý in her country. Beginning with practically nothing, her team took to the streets providing care to people in a way they had never received it ?- in the comfort and security of their homes. Just years later, the government had adopted her plan and through the recognition of leading health organizations the idea is spreading beyond South Africa. Social entrepreneurs like Veronica redefine their field and go on to solve systemic social problems on a larger scale.

The past two decades have seen an extraordinary explosion of entrepreneurship and competition in the social sector. The social sector has discovered what the business sector learned from the railroad, the stock market and todayýs digital revolution: That nothing is as powerful as a big new idea ?- if it is in the hands of a first class entrepreneur.

In country after country the number of citizen organizations is up hundreds, often thousands-fold. Tiny Slovakia had a handful of such organizations in 1989 and now boasts more than 10,000. Of the approximately 2 million citizen sector organizations working in the United States, 70 percent of them were established in the last 30 years. Eastern Europe has seen more than 100,000 such organizations established in the seven years following the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The revolution ?- led by leaders like Veronica ?- is fundamentally changing the way society organizes itself and the way we approach social problems. These leaders are certainly doing more than giving a fish. They are teaching the world to swim.

Read more about social entrepreneurship

How to Change the World - Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas by David Bornstein, a journalist who specializes in writing about social innovation

Knowing History, Serving It. Ashoka's Theory of Change by William Drayton, CEO and Founder of Ashoka, September 2003

The Entrepreneur's Revolution and You by William Drayton, President and Founder of Ashoka, August 2000

Social Entrepreneurship: Towards an Entrepreneurial Culture for Social and Economic Development by Susan Davis, International Board Selection Committee, Ashoka

Historical Examples of Leading Social Entrepreneurs Susan B. Anthony (U.S.) - Fought for Women's Rights in the United States, including the right to control property and helped spearhead adoption of the 19th amendment.

David Brower (U.S.) - Environmentalist and conservationist, he served as the Sierra Club's first executive director and built it into a worldwide network for environmental issues. He also founded Friends of the Earth, the League of Conservation Voters and The Earth Island Institute.
"Social entrepreneurs are not content just to give a fish, or teach how to fish. They will not rest until they have revolutionized the fishing industry."
--- Bill Drayton

Vinoba Bhave (India) - Founder and leader of the Land Gift Movement, he caused the redistribution of more than 7,000,000 acres of land to aid India's untouchables and landless. Mahatma Gandhi described him as his mentor

Frederick Law Olmstead (U.S.) - Creator of major urban parks, including Rock Creek Park in Washington DC and Central Park in NYC, he is generally considered to have developed the profession of landscape architecture in America

Mary Montessori (Italy) - Developed the Montessori approach to early childhood education

Gifford Pinchot (U.S.) - Champion of the forest as a multiple use environment, he helped found the Yale School of Forestry and created the U.S. Forest Service, serving as its first chief

Florence Nightingale (U.K.) - Founder of modern nursing, she established the first school for nurses and fought to improve hospital conditions

Margaret Sanger (U.S.) - Founder of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, she led the movement for family planning efforts around the world

John Muir (U.S.) - Naturalist and conservationist, he established the National Park System and helped found The Sierra Club.

Jean Monnet (France) - Responsible for the reconstruction and modernization of the French economy following World War II, including the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). The ECSC and the European Common Market were Monnet's mechanisms to integrate Europe and were direct precursers of the European Union, which have shaped the course of European history and global international affairs.

John Woolman (U.S.) - Led U.S. Quakers to voluntarily emancipate all their slaves between 1758 and 1800, his work also influenced the British Society of Friends, a major force behind the British decision to ban slaveholding. Quakers, of course, became a major force in the U.S. abolitionist movement as well as a key part of the infrastructure of the Underground Railroad.

Some Present Day Social Entrepreneurs

Dr.Verghese Kurien (India) - Founder of the AMUL Dairy Project which has revolutionized the dairy industry through the production chain of milk, small producers, consumer products and health benefits

Bill Drayton (U.S) - Founded Ashoka, Youth Venture, and Get America Working!

Muhammad Yunus (Bangladesh) - Founder of microcredit and the Grameen Bank

Marian Wright Edelman (U.S.) - Founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) and advocate for disadvantaged Americans and children

Ralph Nader (U.S.) - Fighting for consumer rights and working to increase citizen access to government

Michael Brown and Alan Khazie (U.S.) - Founders of City Year, a program to promote community service and civic participation among teenagers

A social entrepreneur tries to make money off being a social Darwinist.

NickFun

I can't imagine the idea of a social Darwinist. Who would want to hang out with that bore?

Cav
A lot of people apparently did in the lead up to WWII.

BBB

Re: Is evolution just another religion?

I agree.


Sociobiology has its obvious flaws, but I've never heard anyone associate it with Social Darwinism.


I'm not sure what "tradition" he is talking about, but Hobbes and Malthus most certainly were not social Darwinists.


The "naturalistic fallacy" is not an "is-ought" fallacy: it's an open question fallacy first described by G.E. Moore.