Evolution and Communism

Another interesting facet of history is the connection between evolution
and communism. With communism the struggle of "race" is replaced by the
struggle of "class" as history is viewed as an evolutionary struggle.

Both Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels were evolutionists before they
encountered Darwin's "The Origin of Species" - (Dec 12, 1859) Engels wrote
to Marx: "Darwin who I am now reading, is splendid" (Morris 1989, 83
quoting Zirkle). Like Darwin, "Marx thought he had discovered the law of
development. He saw history in stages, as the Darwinists saw geological
strata and successive forms of life... In keeping with the feelings of the
age, both Marx and Darwin made struggle the means of development" (Morris
1989, 83 quoting Borzin). "There was truth in Engel's eulogy on Marx: 'Just
as Darwin had discovered the law of evolution in organic nature so Marx
discovered the law of evolution in human history'" (Morris 1989, 83 quoting
Himmelfarb).

"It is commonplace that Marx felt his own work to be the exact parallel of
Darwin's. He even wished to dedicate a portion of Das Kapital to the author
of The Origin of Species" (Morris 1989, 83 quoting Barzum). Indeed, Marx
wished to dedicate parts of his famous book to Darwin but "Darwin 'declined
the honor' because, he wrote to Marx, he did not know the work, he did not
believe that direct attacks on religion advanced the cause of free thought,
and finally because he did not want to upset 'some members of my family'"
(Morris 1989, 83 quoting Jorafsky).

Other Soviet Communist leaders are evolutionists as well. Lenin, Trostsky,
and Stalin were all atheistic evolutionists. A soviet think tank founded in
1963 developed a one-semester course in "Scientific Atheism" which was
introduced in 1964. Also, a case can be made that Darwinism was influential
in propagating communism in China.

Interestingly, according to Morris, Stephen Jay Gould of Harvard
University, the co-founder of the punctuated equilibrium theory of
evolution is a Marxist in philosophy, along with other distinguished
Harvard evolutionary scientists and university professors across the
country. One has to ask - could a person espouse the Marxist view and
tolerate creationism?

References:
Morris 1989, 82-92

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