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Historical Monkey Business: The Myth of a Darwinized British Imperial Discourse
Author(s) -
Crook Paul
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
history
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.12
H-Index - 15
eISSN - 1468-229X
pISSN - 0018-2648
DOI - 10.1111/1468-229x.00127
Subject(s) - militarism , mythology , social darwinism , authoritarianism , interpretation (philosophy) , darwinism , presentism , sociology , history , literature , epistemology , classics , politics , political science , law , philosophy , art , linguistics , democracy
Extrapolation from a study of evolution and militarism suggests a questioning of the reigning textbook interpretation of a causal link between British ‘new imperialism’ and social Darwinism. The myth of a Darwinized imperial discourse seems largely the creation of inventive new liberals, notably J. A. Hobson, who feared the authoritarian implications of an invasive social science based upon biology.