Survival Of The Shittest

You’ve heard of the Darwinian concept known as “survival of the fittest”, right? What it essentially comes down to is that those specimens of a species that are “fittest” for their surroundings or environment (in other words best adapted to thrive) will disproportionately pass on their genetic material to following generations, thus enhancing the species’ viability over time. It’s not about being “fit” per se, but about being adapted to your environment, and it’s not about how long you live but about how many offspring you produce and whether the way you rear them delivers them to the point where they can produce their own. And so on.

This makes a lot of sense for a species in a “wild” environment. Lions that can run fast and that have the ability to stay out of sight will catch more prey and become strong. They are therefore more likely to survive to adulthood, to be able to reproduce, and to protect their cubs. The next generation should therefore be even better adapted to their environment, as they will be to a great extent the offspring of those who were already well adapted, and good genetics will be passed on. This is how populations became stronger over time – those traits that equated with success in surviving also correlated with the ability to reproduce and keep offspring alive.

So let’s look at people. What happened to the humans who couldn’t adapt, or who were born to parents who were poorly adapted? In the past they would have struggled to find food or work. Without money or status they would have been unable to find good shelter; without good nutrition they would have been more vulnerable to illness and disease. And, most importantly of all, they would have been less likely to reach the age of reproduction and less able to attract a good, healthy mate. Their own offspring would have been less likely to survive to adulthood than those of better-placed specimens, and the overall population genetics would have been enhanced over time.

Now fast forward to 2007, and today’s human population. Let’s look at the USA, although this applies equally well to any number of “civilized” Western societies. What happens to those people who are too poorly educated, lazy, violent or stupid to get work and keep it? Do they struggle to reproduce? Like fuck they do. Our wonderful society now makes sure that they have subsidized housing, food stamps, health care and numerous charities looking to pick up after them. This ensures that, unencumbered by work, they are free to do one thing. Reproduce. Have you not noticed all those single mothers with seven kids by seven different fathers, living in public housing? They may not be able to work, or to maintain themselves, but they sure know how to fuck. And every time one of them spawns a new offspring, there is society, ready to help them feed it, educate it and put it through the criminal justice system.

Meanwhile the “adapted” population is working hard to pay for its children. On average they have fewer kids, partly because they have to pay for them, and partly because they probably have other things to do during the week, like work.

Remember that Darwinism isn’t concerned with how fun life is for the members of a population, only with how well they can reproduce. The male praying mantis who gets his head ripped off during sex is part of a successful evolutionary strategy, in spite of the obvious downsides. So the practical upshot of all our “civilization” and “safety nets for the poor” is that not only is our gene pool no longer being enriched by successive generations breeding in success, but it’s being diluted because stupid and lazy people are now being subsidized and essentially paid to keep breeding, diluting the population with hordes of weak genetic specimens. Darwinism isn’t about “fairness” or “charity”, it’s just the reality that populations are enriched through the inbreeding of those with survival traits. Nowadays survival isn’t at risk – government cheese will see to that – so not only are those with poor survival strategies represented in the breeding pool but they are over-represented. We are busily breeding ourselves downhill; the weak are copulating themselves into a majority and eventually the strong won’t be able to cover the welfare costs.

So bear that in mind next time you hear about a bail-out for people who made stupid decisions, like building a home in a flood plain for the third time, or taking a mortgage they couldn’t possibly afford, or spilling McDonalds coffee on their vagina while driving and then suing because it was hot. Our endless reluctance to see them pay the price for their stupidity is just part of a degeneration of our society by rewarding the dumb and the lazy. Take a trip round Wal-Mart this Saturday if you don’t believe me.


Copyright 2007 Edward Bison