By: Anonymous Social Darwinism History Social Darwinism and its use to Justify Business Practices of the 19th and 20th century. Thesis: The need for a justification of enormous wealth of a few and an unimaginable poverty of millions was, as many tend to believe, fulfilled by the emergence of a theory called Social Darwinism, which on one hand was regarded as a primary defense of business activities, and on the other, was nothing more than a myth. I. Definition and origin of Social Darwinism A. Contribution of Charles Darwin 1. Natural selection 2. Survival of the fittest B. Derivation of Social Darwinism C. First Social Darwinists 1.