D.C. Insider: There's a Shadow Govt. Running the Country, and It's Not Up for Re-Election

[blackspade]

77. I'm not sure what your beef is but,

My point was this: Social Darwinism is a description of an entire period of social thought that originates in the Victorian Period.

Condemning the OP for a quote from this period does not actually address any fallacies with its argument.

As for the quote you just posted, I'll highlight some parts that you have apparently missed:

The term social Darwinist is applied loosely to anyone who interprets human society primarily in terms of biology, struggle, competition, or natural law (a philosophy based on what are considered the permanent characteristics of human nature). Social Darwinism characterizes a variety of past and present social policies and theories, from attempts to reduce the power of government to theories exploring the biological causes of human behavior. Many people believe that the concept of social Darwinism explains the philosophical rationalization behind racism, imperialism, and capitalism. The term has negative implications for most people because they consider it a rejection of compassion and social responsibility.

Notice the last word in the second sentence: Capitalism.
Communism is a form of Capitalism. Communism as practiced is an unfortunate implementation of the social evolutionist theories of Marx and Engels. Social evolution is a Darwinian concept that was applied to various social theories throughout the nineteenth century. In the case of Marxism, with which I am an advocate of, it was theoretically more benign, and I would argue, a progressive form of social Darwinism that tragically was bastardized by authoritarians during the 20th century.

The pejorative use of the word came into vogue during the late 1940s principally in the writings of Richard Hofstadter as a response to the the extreme Victorian ideologies of racism, antisemitism, eugenics that were embraced by early twentieth century dictators and politicians. Unfortunately we still have them today (republicans and libertarians).

As for manners and comportment (I missed this in your last comment), both are a result of theories that the common person could be elevated above their base animal instincts by adopting a rigid set of social codes that covered everything from eating, socializing, education, clothing, etc. The idea was that Victorian morality would elevate those that could be civilized while those that could not were doomed to be socially and culturally inferior. I find it remarkable that many of these ideas still are ingrained in our society today.