Ask Lemmy

Edit: oh, and the belief in intelligence as an immutable genetic trait is only social darwinism if higher intelligence makes people more likely to reproduce, which it doesn't. That's the premise behind Idiocracy.

That's what I thought at first too. But the definition, oddly enough, doesn't actually mention reproduction.

From Merriam-Webster

social Darwinism noun : an extension of Darwinism to social phenomena specifically : a sociological theory that sociocultural advance is the product of intergroup conflict and competition and the socially elite classes (such as those possessing wealth and power) possess biological superiority in the struggle for existence

It's most often used to describe Andrew Carnegie's "Gospel of Wealth" which was all about the superiority of some members of society, and the benefits society would reap by allowing them power over everyone else and over all of society's resources.