This idea that the strong should see their wealth and power grow while the weak see theirs shrink has been used to justify innumerable atrocities in the world

Before we explore that concept, let's first debunk this erroneous adaptation of 'survival of the fittest' as it's been applied to society. Social Darwinism , this idea borne in the 1870's, that the strong should see their wealth and power grow while the weak see theirs shrink, has been used to justify innumerable atrocities in the world. War, racism, Nazism - these have all leveraged this concept for their benefit, yet the idea is flawed and does not hold upin light of what we know today. In a nutshell, this concept is a huge over-simplification of Darwin's theory of evolution, and does not apply to social conditions. 'Fittest' in this context does not refer to survival, it applies to the ability of a species to be able to reproduce. Yet this idea was hijacked by many a dictator in order to flourish and dominate, and it has contributed greatly to the pitting of man against man. The reality is, we could not have survived as a species if we did not learn how to cooperate for the common good - and this is an important lesson.