Survival-of-the-fittest ideology collapses when ruling security is threatened

Evidence

The doctrine of the necessary survival of the fittest, with its implication that the top layers in society eventually are the “fittest,” died as the conquest doctrine had died, namely, at the moment when the ruling classes in England or the English domination in colonial possessions were no longer absolutely secure, and when it became highly doubtful whether those who were “fittest” today would still be the fittest tomorrow. — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 474

Categorization

• XREF: This causal claim — that a legitimating ideology only holds while the ruling class feels secure — echoes Gramscian hegemony logic in the reader’s scaffolding toolkit. — connects to: The ruling class unites only through shared fear of the masses — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination: A History…, 495; Fervently held supremacist demands remain logically consistent with the ruling ideology; Assimilationist confidence collapsed as its economic and security foundations failed — John Higham, Strangers in the Land: Patterns of…, 454 (+1 more)