ABSTRACT
The demonization of Darwinism had by now proceeded to a level where many intellectuals outside science simply assumed that any unpleasantness arising from the application of biological theory to society must be a product of genetics and the theory of natural selection. If Spencer encouraged unrestrained competition, then he must be a Darwinian. Lamarckian's, by contrast, could do no wrong because their stance against Darwinism would automatically ensure that they would oppose any policies based on struggle or the depiction of some sections of the human race as inferior. So not only must Spencer be a Darwinian, but he could not possibly have tolerated a Lamarckian element in his system. This chapter has dispelled this oversimplified interpretation of the history of evolutionism, allowing the Lamarckian component of Spencer's thought to be recognized for what it was: a biological theory whose ideological applications were considerable, but far more flexible than some of its later defenders would care to admit.
