Evolutionary theory & the political left

The majority of those on the left do not oppose Darwinism per se, but are critical of interpretations of evolutionary theory that, in their view, overemphasize the role of competition and ignore elements of co-operation in nature such as symbiosis.

Comparative history

Karl Marx's (1818 — 1883) and Friedrich Engels (1820 — 1895) published The Communist Manifesto in 1848, with Marx's work Das Kapital published in three volumes in 1867, 1885 and 1894. These works established the principles of communism, which had at its core the evolution of societies by advancement between different states. This, they argued, was caused by class struggle, and the proletariat should co-operate to overthrow the bourgeoisie.

The right-wing economist Herbert Spencer (1820 — 1903) coined the phrase survival of the fittest in his 1851 work Social Statics to describe his right-wing economic theory. Spencer argued that programmes to aid the poor, (i.e. the proletariat) did more harm than good, in direct contrast to communism which advocated "to each
according to their needs, from each according to their ability".

Charles Darwin (1809 — 1882) and Alfred Russel Wallace (1823 — 1913) published their theory of evolution by natural selection in 1858, with Darwin's Origin of Species following a year later. Darwin's was that those organisms which were able to reproduce because of differential survival (ecological selection) or attractiveness (sexual selection).
Spencer became a strong advocate of Darwinism, and the phrase survival of the fittest was later included in The Origin. Darwinism thus became associated with Spencer's economics and social philosophy.
Darwin was part of an upper middle-class elite, and his cousin, Francis Galton (1822 — 1911) founded the pseudoscientific discipline of eugenics. This stated that persons of noble blood, and those of Caucasian race should be selected by society to breed over those of lower classes and other races. In terms of class struggle, this could be seen as a form of oppression of the proletariat by the bourgeoisie.

Despite the new emphasis on natural selection, Darwinism did include certain aspects of Lamarckism now disproven, such as the inheritance of acquired characteristics. The concept of advancement however was also still present, as can be seen in Darwin's 1871 Descent of Man
Darwin's theory was far from complete however, and the period between Darwin's death and the neo-Darwinian modern evolutionary synthesis of the 1920s and 1930s has become known as the eclipse of Darwinism because of the rejection of natural selection in favour of Lamarckian advancement.

Other noted left-wing thinkers in the late 19th century weighed in on the subject including Sir George Archdall Reid (1860 — 1929) in 1896 who published a work The Present Evolution of Man, and the Russian anarchist Peter Kropotkin (1842 — 1921)in 1902 published Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution, which particularly opposed the "nature red in tooth and claw" concept.

The great British evolutionary biologist J.B.S. Haldane (1892 —1964) and his esteemed pupil John Maynard Smith, (1920 — 2004) were both communists, though both worked for the British governments during the first and second world wars respectively. H.J. Muller, who won the Nobel Prize in 1946 for his discovery that X-rays cause mutations,

Lysenkoism

The Russian Revolutions of 1918 made Soviet Union become the world's first communist state. Parallel to that state's development was the development of the modern evolutionary synthesis and the end of the eclipse of Darwinism.
Lysenokism was a campaign against genetics that was orchestrated by the non-scientific agronomist Trofim Denisovich Lysenko (1898-1976) and supported by Stalin. Lysenko was the leading proponent of the ideas of Ivan Michurin, a form of Lamarckism, during the early years of the Soviet Union. Lysenko's "science" of agriculture was anti-genetic, instead proposing change in species through hybridization and grafting.

Lysenko began his campaign in 1928, as an unknown agronomist who "invented" a new agricultural technique, vernalization (using humidity and low temperatures to make wheat grow in spring). He promised to triple or quadruple yields using his technique. In reality, the technique was neither new (it was known since 1854, and was extensively studied during the previous 20 years) nor useful.

Soviet mass-media presented Lysenko as a genius who developed a new, revolutionary technique.
Between 1934 and 1940, under Lysenko's admonitions and with Stalin's blessings, many geneticists were executed (including Agol, Levit, Nadson) or sent to labor camps (including the most well-known Soviet geneticist, Nikolai Vavilov, who was arrested in 1940 and died in prison in 1943). Genetics was stigmatized as a "fascist science" and "bourgeois science". Some geneticists, however, survived and continued to work in genetics, dangerous as it was.

In 1948, genetics was officially declared "a bourgeois pseudoscience"; all geneticists were fired from work (some were also arrested), and all genetic research was discontinued. Nikita Khrushchev also valued Lysenko as a great scientist, and the taboo on genetics continued (but all geneticists were released or rehabilitated posthumously). Only in the middle of 1960s was it waived.

Lysenkoism caused serious, long-term harm to Soviet biology. It represented a serious failure of the early Soviet leadership to admit failure even in the face of utter agricultural disaster. Lysenkoism also spread to China, where it continued long after it was eventually denounced by the Soviets.

Williams revolution and group selection

One should only benefit one's relatives who share the same genes (kin selection) or be altruistic if that is reciprocated (see evolution of altruism, prisoner's dilemma). Group selection is now only recognised in certain restrictive circumstances.

Modern developments

Others on the left such as Peter Singer in A Darwinian Left have embraced Darwinism but reach different political and economic lessons than more conservative observers.

References and external links

• Allen, G.A (1989) Eugenics and American social history, 1880-1950 [1]
• Allen, G.A (?) Social Origins of Eugenics [1]
• Darwin, C.R (1859) The Origin of Species [1]
• Darwin, C.R. (1871) The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex [1]
• Kropotkin, P (1902)Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution
• Marx, K and Engels, F (1848) The Communist Manifesto [1]
• Marx, K. Das Kapital
• Maynard Smith, J (1982) Evoluion and the Theory of Games ISBN 0521288843
• Reid, G.A (1896) The Present Evolution of Man
• Spencer, H (1851) Social Statics [1]
• Singer, P, (1999) Darwinian Left: Politics, Evolution, and Cooperation, New Haven and London, Yale University Press. ISBN 0300083238
• Stack, D (2003) The First Darwinian Left: Socialism and Darwinism 1859-1914 ISBN 1873797370