The Social Darwinist: Difference between revisions

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* Emperor Charles zi Britannia in ''[[Code Geass]]'' has this philosophy -- though it applies at its most ruthless to his children, as if any are weak, they deserve to die. The protagonist, a deposed prince of the empire, directly opposes this attitude as it's what cost him his mother and crippled his little sister -- while Charles did nothing. {{spoiler|Subverted, as this was all a facade by the emperor himself.}}
* Emperor Charles zi Britannia in ''[[Code Geass]]'' has this philosophy -- though it applies at its most ruthless to his children, as if any are weak, they deserve to die. The protagonist, a deposed prince of the empire, directly opposes this attitude as it's what cost him his mother and crippled his little sister -- while Charles did nothing. {{spoiler|Subverted, as this was all a facade by the emperor himself.}}
* Vicious of ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]'' shows shades of this, particularly in his attitude towards those who lose their ruthless side. Notably, he assassinates his former [[Mentor]] Mao Yenrai for attempting to make peace with another [[The Syndicate|Syndicate]], (then dismissively describes him as "a beast who lost his fangs") denounces the Elders of the Red Dragon as "corpses that can't fight," and demands to know why Spike Spiegel, his personal and romantic rival, survived his exile if he's no longer as cold-blooded and ruthless as Vicious.
* Vicious of ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]'' shows shades of this, particularly in his attitude towards those who lose their ruthless side. Notably, he assassinates his former [[Mentor]] Mao Yenrai for attempting to make peace with another [[The Syndicate|Syndicate]], (then dismissively describes him as "a beast who lost his fangs") denounces the Elders of the Red Dragon as "corpses that can't fight," and demands to know why Spike Spiegel, his personal and romantic rival, survived his exile if he's no longer as cold-blooded and ruthless as Vicious.
* In ''[[Darker Than Black]]'', Amber's organization "Evening Primrose" is sort of the Contractor [[La Résistance|Resistance movement]], and while it's not clear to what extent Amber herself has this viewpoint, her [[Yandere (disambiguation)|obsessive]] follower Maki definitely does, and in one scene, he actually refers to Contractors as something like a [[Does This Remind You of Anything?|"master race"]]. The [[Interquel]] villain Harvest is also an insane social darwinist, and has several lines about "the next stage in evolution".
* In ''[[Darker than Black]]'', Amber's organization "Evening Primrose" is sort of the Contractor [[La Résistance|Resistance movement]], and while it's not clear to what extent Amber herself has this viewpoint, her [[Yandere (disambiguation)|obsessive]] follower Maki definitely does, and in one scene, he actually refers to Contractors as something like a [[Does This Remind You of Anything?|"master race"]]. The [[Interquel]] villain Harvest is also an insane social darwinist, and has several lines about "the next stage in evolution".
* Light Yagami in ''[[Death Note]]'' develops from a [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]] into this trope, and he [[Villain Protagonist|happens to be the protagonist]]. He believes that by using the Death Note to pick off criminals and the unpleasant, he can make the world consist of good people only. As he puts it, if Kira (his mass-murdering alter ego) is caught, then he's evil; if he wins and rules the world, he's righteous.
* Light Yagami in ''[[Death Note]]'' develops from a [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]] into this trope, and he [[Villain Protagonist|happens to be the protagonist]]. He believes that by using the Death Note to pick off criminals and the unpleasant, he can make the world consist of good people only. As he puts it, if Kira (his mass-murdering alter ego) is caught, then he's evil; if he wins and rules the world, he's righteous.
* In ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'', there are [[Big Bad|Father and his Homunculi]], and [[Sociopathic Soldier|Kimblee]], who is an ideological and philosophical Social Darwinist. He doesn't believe that weak people should be automatically killed (though he ''does'' enjoy blowing up people regardless of how helpless they are), but he believes violence is the only way to solve philosophical disputes; whoever is alive at the end of the day was right. There are also non-villain examples. Olivier Mira Armstrong, for instance, is pretty much [[Four-Star Badass|General Badass]] and leads the Briggs fortress border troops, who are the most [[Badass]] soldiers in all Amestris. Her credo is "survival of the fittest", which she applied to everyone, including ''herself''.
* In ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'', there are [[Big Bad|Father and his Homunculi]], and [[Sociopathic Soldier|Kimblee]], who is an ideological and philosophical Social Darwinist. He doesn't believe that weak people should be automatically killed (though he ''does'' enjoy blowing up people regardless of how helpless they are), but he believes violence is the only way to solve philosophical disputes; whoever is alive at the end of the day was right. There are also non-villain examples. Olivier Mira Armstrong, for instance, is pretty much [[Four-Star Badass|General Badass]] and leads the Briggs fortress border troops, who are the most [[Badass]] soldiers in all Amestris. Her credo is "survival of the fittest", which she applied to everyone, including ''herself''.
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== Tabletop Games ==
== Tabletop Games ==
* The drow in ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'' are a [[Planet of Hats]] of [[Always Chaotic Evil]] Social Darwinists, due to a spectacularly poor choice in patron deity (a demonic spider-goddess) and living in underworld caves whose native fauna make them nearly a [[Death World]]. This does ensure that drow who survive are more dangerous, particularly to each other. Realistic natural selection might well have either wiped them out altogether or forced them to cooperate in a more rational manner. Lolth, their patron deity, tells them to knock it off whenever they fall below a certain point in population. And yes, this makes the drow a race that officially survives on Deus Ex Machina.
* The drow in ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'' are a [[Planet of Hats]] of [[Exclusively Evil]] Social Darwinists, due to a spectacularly poor choice in patron deity (a demonic spider-goddess) and living in underworld caves whose native fauna make them nearly a [[Death World]]. This does ensure that drow who survive are more dangerous, particularly to each other. Realistic natural selection might well have either wiped them out altogether or forced them to cooperate in a more rational manner. Lolth, their patron deity, tells them to knock it off whenever they fall below a certain point in population. And yes, this makes the drow a race that officially survives on Deus Ex Machina.
* Also in ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'', the now-dead god Iyachtu Xvim used to be a [[Social Darwinist]], and didn't like helping the weak like some of the more goody-two-shoes gods, believing that they were directly responsible for their situations and didn't deserve help.
* Also in ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'', the now-dead god Iyachtu Xvim used to be a [[Social Darwinist]], and didn't like helping the weak like some of the more goody-two-shoes gods, believing that they were directly responsible for their situations and didn't deserve help.
* The Clans of ''[[BattleTech]]'' have been [[Designer Babies|bred for war]] for centuries using intensely competitive rituals to determine whose genes get passed on and whose don't, and believe this makes them worthy of ruling the Inner Sphere. Naturally, they get whipped by the "inferiors", who recognize that you can still be of use in combat over the age of 30. The story of the Clan invasion could be a deconstruction of the whole thing. While their rituals and codes of honor helped perfect the Clans' fighting technique, they forgot many of the pragmatic realities of war. Meanwhile, the Inner Sphere realms were all too familiar with them, thanks to their constantly bickering, possessive, petty leaders.
* The Clans of ''[[BattleTech]]'' have been [[Designer Babies|bred for war]] for centuries using intensely competitive rituals to determine whose genes get passed on and whose don't, and believe this makes them worthy of ruling the Inner Sphere. Naturally, they get whipped by the "inferiors", who recognize that you can still be of use in combat over the age of 30. The story of the Clan invasion could be a deconstruction of the whole thing. While their rituals and codes of honor helped perfect the Clans' fighting technique, they forgot many of the pragmatic realities of war. Meanwhile, the Inner Sphere realms were all too familiar with them, thanks to their constantly bickering, possessive, petty leaders.
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== Videogames ==
== Videogames ==
* Andrew Ryan from ''[[Bioshock]]'' has been ([[Did Not Do the Research|inaccurately]]) accused of being this, what with his version of [[Atlas Shrugged|Ayn Rand's Objectivism]]. He even builds an underwater utopia so that the weak do not keep the strong down. Of course, someone still has to scrub the toilets in Rapture; even if Ryan brought down only the best and the brightest people that fit in with his ideology, people who were once captains of industry back on land were no better than average there, and were disgruntled when they had to work menial jobs that someone's gotta do. On the other hand, Andrew Ryan had a pretty broad view of "strong." For example, he met one of his best friends, Bill McDonough, when the man was installing the plumbing in Ryan's apartment. Ryan had only paid for tin pipes, but McDonough was using copper ones (paying the difference out of his own pocket), because "no one bails water out of privies made by Bill McDonough." The next day, Ryan hired him as his general contractor, and made sure to bring him down to Rapture when the city was built.
* Andrew Ryan from ''[[BioShock (series)]]'' has been ([[Did Not Do the Research|inaccurately]]) accused of being this, what with his version of [[Atlas Shrugged|Ayn Rand's Objectivism]]. He even builds an underwater utopia so that the weak do not keep the strong down. Of course, someone still has to scrub the toilets in Rapture; even if Ryan brought down only the best and the brightest people that fit in with his ideology, people who were once captains of industry back on land were no better than average there, and were disgruntled when they had to work menial jobs that someone's gotta do. On the other hand, Andrew Ryan had a pretty broad view of "strong." For example, he met one of his best friends, Bill McDonough, when the man was installing the plumbing in Ryan's apartment. Ryan had only paid for tin pipes, but McDonough was using copper ones (paying the difference out of his own pocket), because "no one bails water out of privies made by Bill McDonough." The next day, Ryan hired him as his general contractor, and made sure to bring him down to Rapture when the city was built.
* In ''[[Final Fantasy VII]] [[Dirge of Cerberus]]'', Weiss the Immaculate announces that he will be slaughtering about half the population to "cleanse the world."
* In ''[[Final Fantasy VII]] [[Dirge of Cerberus]]'', Weiss the Immaculate announces that he will be slaughtering about half the population to "cleanse the world."
* The ''[[City of Heroes]]''' main bad guy, Lord Recluse, has founded his entire evil organization on Social Darwinism... to the point where he actively encourages every faction to fight against every other faction and backstab each other freely. It's a wonder his plans for world conquest go anywhere when all the bad guys are busy killing ''each other'' off instead of fighting the ''heroes''.<ref>This may have been inspired by the Nazis, who recommended [[Klingon Promotion|Klingon Promotions]] and frequently assigned the same task to two or more officials to see who got it done first, promoting infighting. This did not help in making [[The Trains Run On Time]].</ref> This does explain why the majority of your enemies in ''City of Villains'' are not, in fact, heroes. It should be noted that that while Recluse adheres to Survival of the Fittest, he doesn't let it consume his organization. Anarchy and insubordination are stamped out pretty quickly if they interfere with his plans -- hell, one of the few things Villains in his city can't do without restraint is attack civilians. Who else is going to pay Recluse his taxes?
* The ''[[City of Heroes]]''' main bad guy, Lord Recluse, has founded his entire evil organization on Social Darwinism... to the point where he actively encourages every faction to fight against every other faction and backstab each other freely. It's a wonder his plans for world conquest go anywhere when all the bad guys are busy killing ''each other'' off instead of fighting the ''heroes''.<ref>This may have been inspired by the Nazis, who recommended [[Klingon Promotion|Klingon Promotions]] and frequently assigned the same task to two or more officials to see who got it done first, promoting infighting. This did not help in making [[The Trains Run On Time]].</ref> This does explain why the majority of your enemies in ''City of Villains'' are not, in fact, heroes. It should be noted that that while Recluse adheres to Survival of the Fittest, he doesn't let it consume his organization. Anarchy and insubordination are stamped out pretty quickly if they interfere with his plans -- hell, one of the few things Villains in his city can't do without restraint is attack civilians. Who else is going to pay Recluse his taxes?
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