The structure of social theory

Before proposing a conceptualisation of Social Darwinism, I need to make a detour by way of some brief observations on the structure of social and political theory. As will become evident during the course of this chapter, this digression is central to my argument about the nature of Social Darwinism.

Social and political theory in the West, from the Greeks until the present time, consists of two structural components, which I am going to label a world view and an ideology. The first component consists of a set of assumptions about the order of nature and of the place of humanity within it, and how this order relates to and is affected by the passage of time. It also usually contains a view of social reality and where this fits into the overall configuration of nature, human nature and time.

The second component comprises a theory of human interactions and how these are mediated by institutions. It will therefore contain a descriptive element that purports to explain some features of social and psychological existence; a critique of certain aspects of this existence, and probably of other theories as well; and a prescription for how the sociopolitical system ought to be organised. The ideological aspect of a theory thus contains both descriptive and evaluative features which often makes difficult the separation of the empirical and normative claims that are being made. Theories may vary according to the prevalence of one or other of these sorts of claims, but both are integral to their articulation.