达尔文的进化论认为地球上的生物,随着环境的变迁,有一个由低级生命形态向高级生命形态逐渐进化的必然趋势。之后,斯宾塞出提出社会达尔文主义理论。这一理论提出,社会也像个体一样,应被看作是以这样方式进化的有机体。斯宾塞主张:穷人是生存竞争中的不适者,不应予以帮助;在生存竞争中,财富是成功的标志。中国学者严复与1897年翻译《天演论》,为中国带来“物 Darwin’s theory of evolution that biological life on earth, with the changes in the environment, there is a gradual evolution from the low-level form of life to advanced forms of the inevitable trend. Spencer later put forward the theory of social Darwinism. This theory suggests that society, like an individual, should be seen as an organism that has evolved in this way. Spencer argued that the poor are the discomfort of survival competition and should not be helped; wealth is the hallmark of success in survival competition. Chinese scholar Yan Fu translated ”Evolution and Ethics“ in 1897 and brought ”materialism" to China