Today’s conservatives are social Darwinists

Over the past 40 years, I have tried to become an expert on conservative political thought. I believe it is important to share the one important finding I have learned: There now appears to be a much larger number of conservatives who are essentially “survival-of-thethe

fittest” social Darwinists than there were during the 1950s through 1970s.

This means, I believe, that they want to abolish and eliminate all federal government safety-net programs including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps and college student loans.

We find many of them in Congress within the House Freedom Caucus, the old tea party and the Movement-conservatives. We find a heavy dose of such thinking in conservative think-tanks such as Americans For Prosperity, The Heritage Foundation and The Cato Institute. While some of these groups are open and transparent about their beliefs, many use hidden stealth tactics to influence opinion and political decision-making.

Others can do the same research I have done and will likely come to the same conclusion. I highly recommend the books “Dark Money” by Jane Mayer and “Democracy In Chains” by Nancy Maclean.

stewart B. epstein

Rochester The writer has taught at West Virginia University and Slippery Rock University.