The plausibility of a so called Hobbesian interpretation of Darwin's "struggle for
existence" is further increased when we remember the Malthusian origins of the concept
41
.
From the stand point of a perspective which held a vitalist account of organic evolution,
and conceived of the state as a space organism, the
struggle between states for
geographical space became the functional equivalent of the struggle between animals for
the scarce resources deemed necessary for their survival. The state is not merely a living
being, but one that, under the impulse of its volkgeist, strives to survive and grow in an
hostile environment, or perish in the process. For instance, for Rudolf Kjellén, "the state
organism was engaged in a perpetual struggle for life and space, and only the fittest and
most adaptable could be expected to survive and prosper"
42
. A disciple of Ratzel, it was
Kjellén who coined the term "geopolitics", which he defined as "the science which
Darwin then went on to say that, in comparison with this understanding of the word, his second
meaning was "less proper": i.e., "a situation in which an organism confronted a limited
environment, as in the case of a plant in time of drought". He recognized that it would be "more
proper" in that case to say that "the plant was 'dependent' upon moisture than to say that it was
struggling to survive. Finally, Darwin used 'far fetched' to characterize a struggle in which a parasite
so increased in power that it threatened its host's existence and, ultimately, its own".
Ibid.
41
The parallel becomes apparent through an austere textbook account of Darwin's theory:
"The driving force behind evolution, Darwin explained, was summarized by five facts:
1. Populations produce more offspring than their environment can support.
2. Physical and behavioral variations of all types exist within these offspring.
3. Offspring compete for the available resources.
4. Those individuals possessing favorable or advantageous traits succeed more often than those with
unfavorable traits.
5. Successful organisms have more offspring and can pass on those traits that made them
successful".
Knowlton 1993, p. 83.
Except for the fifth point and a couple of qualifications, this could also be a summary of Malthus'
views on the patterns of evolution of human populations. By the way, the fifth point was, until
Mendel, the Achilles heel of Darwin's theory, since he could not explain how those traits were
passed on from one generation to the next.
42
Parker, Op. Cit., p. 171.
In turn, "Southern cone geopolitical thinking is deeply rooted in classical European
geopolitical thinking. (...) The nation-state is seen as a living organism, threatened by a variety of
internal and external enemies that challenge its survival in a cruel and hostile Darwinian world. The
environment is not only hostile, but is also dynamic and ruled by a series of 'geopolitical laws' that
govern the birth, growth, survival and death of states".
Child 1990, pp. 54-55.
Convention