Eli’s Mind

(1) Two weak points in Karl Marx’s views are:

• Overemphasis on economic determinism: Marx’s theory heavily focuses on economic factors as the primary driving force behind societal change, sometimes neglecting other significant influences such as culture, ideology, and psychology. This oversimplification can lead to an incomplete understanding of social dynamics.
• Ignoring individual agency: Marx tends to portray individuals as passive products of their socio-economic circumstances, overlooking their capacity for independent action and decision-making. This neglect of individual agency undermines the complexity of human behavior and the potential for individual initiative to shape society.

(2) Herbert Spencer, as encountered in readings, advocated for the idea of social evolution driven by natural selection, similar to Darwin’s theory of biological evolution. He believed in the “survival of the fittest” concept, suggesting that societies and institutions evolve and improve through competition and adaptation. While Spencer’s ideas align with aspects of Social Darwinism, he didn’t fully embrace all its tenets. He deserves to be called a “Social Darwinist” to some extent due to his emphasis on competition and adaptation in societal progress, but it’s important to note that his views were more nuanced and broader than the label might suggest.