History Quotes / TheSocialDarwinist

->''"Don't get me wrong, I see the logic, but it's kind of...animal logic. Still, you made your bed. Now you've gotta lie in it. If you're gonna be an animal, ''be an animal''. Own it! The losers, the weak? Throw 'em away! That's how nature works, my friends -- that's life at its most pure! You get me?"''
-->-- '''Dio''', ''VisualNovel/VirtuesLastReward''

[[folder:Webcomics]]
->''"Here you are, still arrogant fools, still striving to subjugate and destroy all of the world's beautiful monsters! How do you not realize it? How do you not ''see'' that monsters are your ''superiors''? Think on it, and you will know -- humanity ''needs'' monsters! Without monsters, we are the apex predators of the world, and thus we allow ourselves to ''sink into self-satisfied mediocrity!'' We need monsters to keep us ''sharp!'' To prove our ''mettle!'' To ''cull the herd!'' Remove the indolent! The weak! ''The aged and the infirm!'' Those not worthy to ''survive!'' the more dangerous the monsters -- the more ''deadly'' they are -- the ''stronger'' the remains of humanity will become, and my beautiful, glorious monsters -- ''they'' will be the most dangerous -- the most ''deadly'' -- of all! I WILL GATHER MY FORCES, AND UNLEASH A RAVENING HORDE THAT WILL SCOUR THE LAND! '''THERE IS NO NEED TO THANK ME!'''"''
-->-- '''[[spoiler:Dr. Dimitri Vapnoople]]''' mere seconds after de-lobotomization, ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' ([[https://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20190424 Vol. 19 p. 94]])
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
->''"The message is clear: in this new, dog-eat-dog world, that's all survivors are good for, the food and [[IfYouDieICallYourStuff tools in their backpack]].\\\
So, what if it had turned out that guy was himself a badass zombie-killing machine? That'd come in pretty useful, right? Well, maybe they could tell by looking at him that wasn't the case (no visible weapons, not [[BloodIsTheNewBlack covered in enough zombie blood]])... How many people do ''you'' know who are truly worthless?"''
-->-- ''Website/{{Cracked}}'', "Four Reasons ''Series/{{The Walking Dead|2010}}'' Hates Humans More Than Zombies"

->'''Jamie:''' What's your perfect world?\\
'''Sylvester:''' A world where everyone is surrounded by people who are striving to be their best, because we only grow as people when we're around people who are equal to or better than us in intelligence, skill, and industry. It's in stupidity and stagnation that we fail as a species.\\
'''Jamie:''' But ethically? Morally?\\
'''Sylvester:''' I just gave my answer. In a perfect world, we're all different, ethically and morally. We argue, we challenge each other, and everyone is working to make their ideas better and more... more.\\
'''Jamie:''' A lot of hostility, arguments, competition.\\
'''Sylvester:''' Nothing good awaiting us as a species if we lose that. Stagnation.\\
'''Jamie:''' I can't help but notice you haven't mentioned anything about the positive human relationships. Only the confrontational ones.\\
'''Sylvester:''' Humans are a social species. Push us, pressure us, challenge us, and the weak elements will break apart, the stronger elements will band together.\\
'''Jamie:''' Wallace's law, applied to a group.\\
'''Sylvester:''' Don't get me wrong, I'm not proposing something where we're all supposed to act like animals, or that we should model ourselves after them. I'm saying humans are humans, and being human means struggling. In the course of those struggles, we form the strongest bonds. Could be us and a life and death struggle with a pair of people who want to stalk and kill us, or two people working in a tea shop in a town that's gotten embroiled in a civil war.\\
'''Jamie:''' Seems like your worldview is a little bit, uh, conveniently ''you?''\\
'''Sylvester:''' Of course it is. I'm ''eleven.'' Ish.
-->-- ''Literature/{{Twig}}''

-->-- '''Andrew Detmer''', ''Film/Chronicle''

->''"[[ApocalypseHow All is in ruins. A waste]]. As we welcomed the new world, I judged it fit for the strong alone to survive at the expense of the weak. I believed, [[DeconstructedTrope wrongly]], that those so chosen were the most deserving. After those who believed that the weak were fit only to be hunted ascended as rulers of the Forest, [[DividedWeFall they turned on each other and begun to kill one another]]. ''[...]'' My remaining subjects are the strongest in [[HumanoidAliens Femushinmu]] history...and the most foolish. [[AlwaysChaoticEvil They have no hope of reviving our civilization]]. And what about your kind?"''
-->-- '''[[AntiVillain Rosyuo]]''', ''Series/KamenRiderGaim''

->''"Compassion? Empathy towards species outside your own? Ethics? Morals? Laws? Those are things CIVILIZATION invented! You ponies brought them into being when you decided 'I will care about more than whether I live and reproduce.' You decided some things were greater then your own life! You decided some things were greater than passing off GENETIC legacies. You learned what love was when Celestia taught you how to care about something other than your DNA. The natural world? When did you last see parasprites and cockatrices have political debates? Nature's balance doesn't TOLERATE kindness, Flutter-girl. The sick and hurt you care for? You go AGAINST nature's will when you step in and tend to them and heal them. They're SUPPOSED to die to make way for the superior survivors. But because you have an empathy sphere larger than the sun, you step in, you CHEAT, Fluttershy, you break Darwin The Dragon's law and allow the 'weak' to thrive not making room for the 'strong'. Kindness goes AGAINST nature, Fluttershy! You're as unnatural as me."''

-->--'''Adam Smith''', "The Theory of Moral Sentiments"

->Oh, why are you men so foolish,
->You breeders who breed our men,
->[[ListingTheFormsOfDegenerates Let the fools, the weaklings, and crazy]],
->Keep breeding and breeding again?
->[[ListingTheFormsOfDegenerates The criminal, deformed, and the misfit]],
->[[ListingTheFormsOfDegenerates Dependent, diseased, and the rest]]?
->As we breed the human family,
->The worst is as good as the best.
->Go to the house of some farmer,
->Look through his barns and sheds,
->Look at his horses and cattle,
->Even his hogs are thoroughbreds.
->Then look at his stamp on his children,
->[[SonOfAnApe Low browed with the monkey jaw]],
->[[SonOfAnApe Ape-handed, silly, and foolish]],
->Bred true to Mendel's law.
->Go to some homes in the village,
->Look at the garden beds,
->The cabbage, the lettuce, and turnips,
->Even his beets are thoroughbreds.
->Then look at the many children,
->[[SonOfAnApe With hands like the monkey's paw]],
->Bow-legged, flat-headed, and foolish,
->Bred true to Mendel's law.
->This is the law of Mendel,
->And often he makes it plain,
->[[SocialDarwinist Defectives will breed defectives]],
->And the insane breed insane.
->Oh why do we allow these people,
->[[SonOfAnApe To breed back to the monkey's nest]],
->To increase our country's burdens,
->[[GeniusBreedingAct When we should only breed the best]]?
->Oh, you wise men take up the burden,
->And make this your loudest creed,
->[[ANaziByAnyOtherName Sterilize the misfits promptly]],
->[[ANaziByAnyOtherName All not fit to breed]].
->[[ANaziByAnyOtherName Then our race will be strengthened and bettered]],
->And our men and women be blessed,
->Not apish, repulsive, and foolish,
->For the best will breed the best.

-->-- '''The Once-ler''', ''[[CutSong Biggering]]'', ''WesternAnimation/TheLorax''

->''"The flesh of the weak is the food of the strong."''
-->-- '''Makoto Shishio''', ''Manga/RurouniKenshin''

->''"If you're strong, you live; if you're weak, you die."''
-->-- '''Makoto Shishio''', ''Manga/RurouniKenshin''

->''"The weak wear the chains, and the strong wield the whip!"''
-->--'''Corset''', ''Anime/PantyAndStockingWithGarterbelt''

->''"This world we live in is a weak place! It doesn't matter how you win. It matters that you DO win!"''
-->-- '''Hougen''', ''Anime/GingaDensetsuWeed''

->''"In order for some to live, others must die. That is the law of nature. From the moment of birth, life is one endless struggle, and only the strong will survive."''
-->-- '''The Wolf''', ''Anime/RingingBell''

->''"Didn't I tell you? People who perish in others' battles are worms. If one can't live life the way they want, they might as well die! Those two didn't have the power to protect themselves from the destruction that I brought. That's all there is to it. If I have to worry about the ants I crush beneath my feet... I couldn't even walk around."''
-->--'''[[Characters/BerserkGuts Guts]]''', ''Manga/{{Berserk}}''

->''"The weak are destined to lie beneath the boots of the strong. If that angers you, overcome your deficits."''
-->--'''Esdeath''', ''Manga/AkameGaKill''

->'''Gilgamesh:''' [[TheTimeOfMyths Long ago]], I selected ten slaves, with the intent of slaying one that would not be missed. What do you suppose happened, Shinji?\\
'''Shinji:''' ...you killed them all, right?\\
'''Gilgamesh:''' I found that I could not slay any of them. They were simple laborers, but in the old world, none were without value. But this world overflows with the superfluous. I could choose not only ten, but thousands, and I'd not find one amongst them that I could not kill.\\
'''Shinji:''' I don't get what you're saying. What is it that you want?\\
'''Gilgamesh:''' That is simple. [[ApocalypseHow Too many of anything is sickening]].
-->-- ''Anime/FateStayNightUnlimitedBladeWorks''

-->--'''Donquixote Doflamingo''', ''Manga/OnePiece''

->''"Silence, whelp. Born of Noble blood as you are, surely you understand us immortals. Life everlasting-it is our duty as those ordained with immortality to live on while crushing those beneath us. That... is the blessing the Sacred Ancestor bestowed upon us."''
-->--'''Count Magnus Lee''', ''Literature/VampireHunterD''

->''"Without power, neither emotions nor tenacity mean a thing. The weak should be discarded. Overwhelming power is everything."''
-->--'''Zenon Zogratis''', ''Manga/BlackClover''

->'''Vicious:''' The same blood runs through both of us. The blood of a beast who wanders, hunting for the blood of others.\\
'''Spike:''' I've bled all that kind of blood away.\\
'''Vicious:''' '''''THEN WHY ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?!'''''
-->-- '''Anime/CowboyBebop''', Episode 5, "Ballad of Fallen Angels"

[[folder: Comic Books]]

-->--'''Tauza''', ''Series/{{Farscape}}: Let Sleeping Dogs Lie''

-->--''ComicBook/StarWarsLegacy''

->''"Thus the weak and stupid are weeded out in a heartless, but essential, natural selection, keeping the human population in check. ...at least, that's how it ought to be."''
-->--'''Calvin''' while giving a school report on overpopulation, ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes''

->''"...And the weak were cast out into the desert. The unfit, the ugly, the frail, the sick, the elderly. Raids were conducted throughout the kingdom, searching for those who might ‘bring down’ the strength of Sanctuary. The land was no longer a haven, instead being a place of fear. And the Malaiki was succeeded by his son, Shujaa. Only more pain and suffering were brought to the lands. He began the greatest abomination the kingdom has ever known: he passed a law that forbade the practice of any religion. Believers were tortured as a public spectacle, made to suffer untold agony, many of them dying from their thirst or their wounds. Those that survived were cast into the desert along with the others, believing that they would only weaken the kingdom."''
-->-- ''Fanfic/SanctuaryTheLionKing'', a ''WesternAnimation/TheLion King1994'' fanfic by Kovukono

-->--'''Nightmare Umbra''', ''Fanfic/HarmonyTheory''

->"My people are not barbarians, Ecco--we realize what you did for this Earth. But, we are of a certain nature. Just because you did a great deed does not mean that you can be exempt from the Law."\\
"The Law?"\\
"Dolphins have many laws, killer whales have three. Sharks, little mammal, have only one." Greshruk's jaws parted slightly. "The fittest survive."
-->-- ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2630487/22/Defender-of-the-Future The Tidesinger Trilogy]]'', by '''GTK'''

-> ''"Compassion? Empathy towards species outside your own? Ethics? Morals? Laws? Those are things CIVILIZATION invented! You ponies brought them into being when you decided 'I will care about more than whether I live and reproduce.' You decided some things were greater then your own life! You decided some things were greater than passing off GENETIC legacies. You learned what love was when Celestia taught you how to care about something other than your DNA. The natural world? When did you last see parasprites and cockatrices have political debates? Nature's balance doesn't TOLERATE kindness, Flutter-girl. The sick and hurt you care for? You go AGAINST nature's will when you step in and tend to them and heal them. They're SUPPOSED to die to make way for the superior survivors. But because you have an empathy sphere larger than the sun, you step in, you CHEAT, Fluttershy, you break Darwin The Dragon's law and allow the 'weak' to thrive not making room for the 'strong'. Kindness goes AGAINST nature, Fluttershy! You're as unnatural as me."''
-->-- '''Fluttercruel''', ''Fanfic/PonyPOVSeries''

->“My friends ''died'' during that!”\\
“Because their hope wasn’t strong enough. It was so despair inducing to watch such wonderful symbols of hope succumb to her... but the end made it all worth it! Their sacrifice-–”\\
“Don’t say that!”
-->-- ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/7685368/chapters/17819065 The Lion's Den]]''

->''"Gentlemen, there comes a time in the evolution of a colony when the strong are meant to rise above the weak. Now is that time. Below us right now, the weak elements of the colony [[FinalSolution are being washed away.]]"''
-->-- '''General Mandible''', ''WesternAnimation/{{Antz}}''

->'''Neera''': Kron, we've never gone this long without water. If we keep going like this, we'll lose half the herd.\\
'''Kron''': Then we save the half that deserves to live.
-->--''WesternAnimation/{{Dinosaur}}''

-->--'''Vandal Savage''' to the '''Legion of Doom''', ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueDoom''

-->--'''The Once-ler''', ''[[CutSong Biggering]]'', ''WesternAnimation/TheLorax''

-->--'''Brother Gaspar de Carvajal''', ''Film/AguirreTheWrathOfGod''

->'''Ash''': [[YouHaveNoIdeaWhoYoureDealingWith You still don't understand what you're dealing with]], do you? The perfect organism. Its structural perfection is matched only by its hostility.\\
'''Lambert''': You admire it.\\
'''Ash''': I admire its purity. A survivor. Unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality.
-->--'''''{{Film/Alien}}''''' (1979)

->'''Marley:''' The world is on the verge of new and great changes, Mr. Scrooge. Some of them, of necessity, will be violent. Do you agree?\\
'''Scrooge:''' I think the world is becoming a very hard and cruel place, Mr. Marley. One must steel oneself to survive it, and not be crushed under with the weak and infirm.\\
'''Marley:''' I think we have a great deal in common, Mr. Scrooge.
-->--''Film/Scrooge1951''

->''"Who do you think God really favors in the web? The spider or the fly?"''
-->--'''Eli Damaskinos''', ''Film/BladeII''

->''"Let's bring it pig! Where are you pig? I want your eyes, pig. I want them. You want to go to hell? Huh? Huh, pig? You want to go to hell with me? It doesn't matter, does it? We are the hunters. We kill the weak so the strong survive. You can't stop the New World. [[WeAreEverywhere Your filthy society will never get rid of people like us. It's breeding them! WE ARE THE FUTURE!]]"''
-->--'''The Night Slasher''', ''Film/{{Cobra}}''

->''"You must shake up the entire Luftwaffe. [[YouHaveFailedMe Many mistakes have been made, so be ruthless]]. Life never forgives weakness. This so-called humanity is just priest's drivel. Compassion is a primal sin, compassion for the weak is a betrayal of nature. [...] I have always obeyed this law of nature by never permitting myself to feel compassion. I have ruthlessly suppressed domestic opposition and brutally crushed the resistance of alien races. It is the only way to deal with it. Apes, for example, trample every outsider to death. What goes for apes, goes more for human beings."''

->''"The jigsaw piece that I cut from my subjects was only ever meant to be a symbol that that subject was missing something. A vital piece of the human puzzle. [[WeHaveBecomeComplacent The survival instinct.]]"''
-->-- '''Jigsaw''', ''Film/SawII''

->''"Order is the barrier that holds back the flood of death. We must all of us on this train of life remain in our allotted station. We must each of us occupy our preordained particular position. Would you wear a shoe on your head? Of course you wouldn't wear a shoe on your head. A shoe doesn't belong on your head. A shoe belongs on your foot. A hat belongs on your head. I am a hat. You are a shoe. I belong on the head. You belong on the foot. Yes? So it is. In the beginning, order was proscribed by your ticket: First Class, Economy, and freeloaders like you. Eternal order is prescribed by the sacred engine: all things flow from the sacred engine, all things in their place, all passengers in their section, all water flowing. all heat rising, pays homage to the sacred engine, in its own particular preordained position. So it is. Now, as in the beginning, I belong to the front. You belong to the tail. When the foot seeks the place of the head, the sacred line is crossed. Know your place. Keep your place. Be a shoe."''
-->-- '''Mason''', ''Film/{{Snowpiercer}}''

->''"My grandmother had an island. Nothing to boast of -- you could walk along it in an hour -- but still, it was a paradise for us. One summer, we went for a visit and discovered the place had been infested with rats. They'd come on a fishing boat and gorged themselves on coconut. So how do you [[ThePurge get rats off an island]], hmm? My grandmother showed me. We buried an oil drum and hinged the lid. Then we wired coconut to the lid as bait, and the rats would come for the coconut, and thum-thum-thum-thum-thum, they would fall into the drum. And after a month, you've trapped all the rats. [[AndThenWhat But what do you do then]]? Throw the drum [[KillItWithWater into the ocean]]? [[KillItWithFire Burn it]]? No. You just leave it. And they begin to get hungry, and one by one... ''(smacks lips repeatedly)'' ...they start [[ImAHumanitarian eating each other]] until there are only two left. Two survivors. And then what? Do you kill them? No. You take them and release them into the trees. But now they don't eat coconut anymore. ''[[BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil Now they only eat rat.]]'' You have changed their nature. [[RuleOfSymbolism The two survivors]]. This is what she made us."''
-->-- '''Raoul Silva''' to '''Film/JamesBond''', ''Film/{{Skyfall}}''

->'''Ultron''': There were more than a dozen extinction level events before even'' the dinosaurs ''got theirs! When the Earth starts to settle, God throws a stone at it. [[Film/AvengersInfinityWar And believe me. He's winding up.]] We have to evolve. There's no room for...the weak.
->'''Pietro Maximoff''': And who decides who's weak?
->'''Ultron''': ''Life.'' Life always decides.
-->-- ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron''

->'''[[CorruptCorporateExecutive Gordon Gekko]]''': ''[at the Teldar Paper stockholder meeting]'' Well, I appreciate the opportunity you're giving me, Mr. Cromwell, as the single largest shareholder in Teldar Paper, to speak. Well, ladies and gentlemen, we're not here to indulge in fantasy, but in political and economic reality. America, America has become a second-rate power. Its trade deficit and its fiscal deficit are at nightmare proportions. Now, in the days of the free market, when our country was a top industrial power, there was accountability to the stockholder. The Carnegies, the Mellons, the men that built this great industrial empire, made sure of it because it was their money at stake. Today, management has no stake in the company! All together, these men sitting up here own less than three percent of the company. And where does Mr. Cromwell put his million-dollar salary? Not in Teldar stock; he owns less than one percent. You own the company. That's right, you, the stockholder. And you are all being royally screwed over by these, these bureaucrats, with their luncheons, their hunting and fishing trips, their corporate jets and golden parachutes.
->'''Cromwell''': This is an outrage! You're out of line, Gekko!
->'''Gordon Gekko''': Teldar Paper, Mr. Cromwell, Teldar Paper has ''thirty-three different vice presidents'', each earning over two hundred thousand dollars a year. Now, I have spent the last two months analyzing what all these guys do, and I still can't figure it out. One thing I do know, is that our paper company lost $110 million last year, and I'll bet that half of that was spent in all the paperwork going back and forth between all these vice presidents! The new law of evolution in corporate America seems to be survival of the unfittest. Well, in my book, you either do it right, ''or you get eliminated''. In the last seven deals that I've been involved with, there were 2.5 million stockholders who have made a pretax profit of $12 billion. Thank you. I am not a destroyer of companies. I am a liberator of them! [[SignatureLine The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good.]] {{Greed}} is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms: greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA. Thank you very much.
-->-- ''Film/WallStreet''

-> ''"You're weak, [[ComicBook/{{Superman}} son of El]]. The fact that you possess a sense of morality and we do not gives us an evolutionary advantage. And if history has proven anything, it is that evolution always wins!"''

-> ''"To live is to consume. Now, the human beings on your planet are [[HumanResources merely a resource]] waiting to be [[WouldBeRudeToSayGenocide converted into capital]], and [[IndustrializedEvil this entire enterprise]] is just a small part in a vast and beautiful machine, defined by evolution, designed to a single purpose: [[CapitalismIsBad to create profit]]. ...My mother made me understand that every human society is a pyramid and that some lives will always matter more than others. It's better to accept this than to pretend it isn't true."''
-->-- '''Balem Abrasax''', ''Film/JupiterAscending''

-->--'''Dr. Kurt Hendricks''', ''Film/MissionImpossibleGhostProtocol''

->''"Here’s the real truth: there are eight million people in this city. And those teeming masses exist for the sole purpose of lifting the few exceptional people onto their shoulders."''
-->--'''The Green Goblin''', ''Film/SpiderMan1''

-->--'''The Green Goblin''', ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome''

->''"People with weaknesses get killed by the people who lack them. Notice I'm not dead."''
-->-- '''Kerrigan''', ''Sword of Darkness'' (''Lords of Avalon'' #1)

-->--'''Creator/SinclairLewis''', ''Babbitt''

->''"Weak bears should be killed before they weaken us all."''
-->--'''Shoteka''', ''Literature/SeekerBears''

->''"Self-preservation is a man's first duty."''
-->-- '''Philip Lombard''', ''Literature/AndThenThereWereNone''

-->-- '''Voldemort''', ''Literature/HarryPotter''

->'''Darktail''': We have developed our ''own'' code. After we left the other Clans, [=SkyClan=] realized our members were becoming weak, and we decided to make up some new rules. [=SkyClan=] rules reward the strong and aggressive—the cats who will best defend the Clan.
->'''Sparkpaw''': What about sick cats, then, or elders?
->'''Darktail''': They learn to take care of themselves.
-->--''Literature/WarriorCats'': ''The Apprentice's Quest''

->''"Iron sharpens iron, and the sharpest iron takes the throne."''
-->-- '''Praesi proverb''', ''Literature/APracticalGuideToEvil''

->''"The law of the jungle says 'Be strong or be dominated.' The law of our world says 'Be strong or be killed.'"''
-->-- '''Ather''', ''Literature/DenOfShadows : In the Forests of the Night''

->[[OutsideContextProblem This new force]], this individual, began to make his presence known in our galaxy. And he had different ideas from ours. He sees a universe of conflict, pain, and terror. He craves fear. Not his own, of course, but the fear of others. He is a strange perfectionist, in a way. [[OmnicidalManiac He wants a galaxy cleansed of creation]]. His goal, I soon realized, is to destroy life. His method is to use one species against another, strong destroying weak, and then strong in turn being destroyed by the stronger still. He believes that there should be only one species. A single sentient race, which would be subjugated by him.
-->--'''The Ellimist,''' ''Literature/{{Animorphs}} #26: The Attack''

->''"The Westergaards are [[AnimalMetaphor lions]], [[AnimalMotifs not mice]]. Hans, you should listen to your brothers. Maybe you could learn a thing or two from them if you stopped acting like you were better than them."''
-->-- '''The King of the Southern Isles''' to his youngest son '''Prince Hans''', ''Literature/AFrozenHeart''

->The first of "Goose's Two Laws Of Survival." It runs thus: "The Weak are Meat the Strong do Eat."
-->--'''Dr Henry Goose,''' ''Literature/CloudAtlas''

->To a [[ChaoticEvil Dark mage]], power is reality. The more power you have, the more you can shape the reality around you. Strength, cunning, influence, whatever, but the one thing they don't tolerate is weakness. Dark mages believe weakness is a sin, something shameful. If you're not strong enough to take what you want, it's ''your'' fault.
-->--''[[Literature/AlexVerus Fated]]''

->'''The Doctor:''' [[PushedAtTheMonster He doesn't have to outrun the lion, only his friend.]] Then the lion catches up with his friend and eats him. The strong survive, the weak are killed. The law of the jungle.\\
'''Harvey:''' Oh, yeah. Very clever.\\
'''The Doctor:''' Yes, very clever, if you don't mind losing your friend. But what happens [[DivideAndConquer when the next lion turns up?]] I think you'd better get your running shoes on, gentlemen.
-->--''Series/DoctorWho'', [[{{Recap/DoctorWhoS26E4Survival}} "Survival"]]

-->-- ''Series/BabylonFive'', "Z'ha'dum"

-->-- '''Khan Noonien Singh''', ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'', "Space Seed"

->''"[[ApocalypseHow All is in ruins. A waste.]] As we welcomed the new world, I judged it fit for the strong alone to survive at the expense of the weak. I believed, [[DeconstructedTrope wrongly]], that those so chosen were the most deserving. After those who believed that the weak were fit only to be hunted ascended as rulers of the Forest, [[DividedWeFall they turned on each other and begun to kill one another.]] [...] My remaining subjects are the strongest in [[HumanoidAliens Femushinmu]] history...and the most foolish. [[AlwaysChaoticEvil They have no hope of reviving our civilization.]] And what about your kind?"''

-->-- '''Alpha''', ''Series/TheWalkingDead2010'', [[{{Recap/TheWalkingDeadS09E11Bounty}} "Bounty"]]

->'''Danerys Targaryen:''' I am a queen, not a butcher.
->'''Daario Naharis:''' All rulers are either butchers or meat.
-->-- ''Series/GameOfThrones'', [[{{Recap/GameOfThronesS5E7TheGift}} "The Gift"]]

->''"[[RagtagBandOfMisfits They]] think they're entitled to victory because their way is "right" and our way is "wrong." But that's not how it works. There are no morals to the story, no happy endings. Life isn't a fairy tale, it's a competitive sport! Right and wrong, there's no such thing. There are only winners and losers. [[ThugDojo Cobra Kai]] builds winners, because we're willing to do whatever it takes to come out on top.''
-->-- '''[[Film/TheKarateKidPartIII Terry Silver]]''', ''Series/CobraKai'' season 5 finale

->''"I've seen an old man have a heart attack in Manhattan\\
Well, he just died while we [[NightmareFetishist just stood there lookin' at him]]\\
Ain't he cute?\\
I don't care about you!\\
Ohhhhhhhhh!\\
I don't care about you!"''
-->--'''{{Music/Fear}}''', "I Don't Care About You"

->''"In this land of competition\\

We keep pushing on"''
-->--'''Music/BadReligion'''

->''"Look out at your children\\

And it looks as though they're here to stay"''
-->--'''Music/DavidBowie,''' "Oh! You Pretty Things."

->Adapt... or Perish.
-->--Slogan of '''Wrestling/{{Evolution}}'''

->'''The Doctor:''' But here, John, here in Perfugium, you had friends! You had life - something you've denied so many others.
->'''The Master:''' [[ShutUpKirk Those which deserved to die were denied life, yes, of course]]. The weak shall fall - or ''follow.'' You should know all about having the weak follow you, Doctor.
-->--AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho: ''[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho049Master Master]]''

->''People confuse “survival of the fittest” between Black and Green. Black’ Survival of the Fittest is the idea that the stronger person will get what they want. Might makes right. If you can take something away from someone else, it belongs to you.''
->''Green’s Survival of the Fittest is the Darwinian meaning. Things that can survive to mate pass along their genetic traits. Over time the traits that better allow survival will grow while those that don’t will die out - through natural selection.''
--> '''Mark Rosewater''', [[http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/153203117068/could-you-please-clarify-an-issue-regarding-the explaining the difference]] between Green and Black (and how only one of them fits this trope) in ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering''

-->-- '''Fabius Bile''', ''[[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer40000}} Warhammer 40,000]]''

->''"The strong breed. The weak die. Does that sound harsh? That's evolution. We must be stronger than our enemies, especially [[JustBeforeTheEnd with the Final Days so close]]. If we let the weakest rats survive, they'll breed thousands and thousands of even weaker rats. Instinct will tell you to kill, so follow it. You'll also feel an overriding desire to breed - do it. We need an army to overwhelm our enemies. To many of [[OurWereBeastsAreDifferent the other Changing Breeds]] have given up, but we must outnumber and overwhelm anything that gets in our way. Then, when the time is right, the force of the Wyld will overwhelm everything, returning us to the ideals of the [[TheDarkTimes Impergium]]."''
-->--'''Duke Wades-in-Blood,''' ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse - Breedbook: Ratkin''

->In the First Days, [[EvilSorcerer lonely witches and lunatic priests]] [[WalkingTheEarth walked the midnight paths alone]]. Most perished there, but those who survived grew strong. In time, other folk followed them and joined their revels. Like mists, these renunciates drifted through the wild lands; like clouds of ink, they sank into the seas. And in time, they spread and prospered. [[AbusivePrecursors The elder races]] taught them [[TheDarkArts godly lore]]; beasts schooled them with open claws; Darkness embraced them as its own, and they became black clouds across the earth, [[HumanoidAbomination Living Voids]] who echoed [[EldritchAbomination the greater Void beyond]].
->And sometimes they returned to their old fires with secrets in their hands.
->To battle gods, one must be strong. But many men and women were not. In the tribal days, beast-kings, plagues and hunger culled the human flock. But as tribes became towns and towns became cities, the weak ones were allowed to breed. When the fires grew large and bright, they warmed the bones of those who should have perished. Compassion, that [[SarcasmMode noble trait]] that allowed Man to survive the depredations of the wilderness corrupted these new towns like leprosy. Soon the streets were filled with the ragged and the craven, begging alms from those strong enough to survive. And so, like wolves in the night, the living clouds crossed back into the realms of man and [[DisposableVagrant choked the weak ones where they lay]].
->Thus began the challenge: ''fight and live or falter and die.''
-->--''[[TabletopGame/MageTheAscension Mage: The Sorcerer's Crusade]] - Infernalism''

->Naturally, the Dark Elves [[ANaziByAnyOtherName consider all other races inferior]]. Even those who approach them in skill and intellect, the Naggarothi dismiss as weaklings, sneering at the laws and traditions that waste resources nurturing the weak even as they shackle the ambitions of the strong. The Dark Elves have no such restraint: in [[GrimUpNorth Naggaroth]], the weak perish, and the strong take whatever they desire.
-->--''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}: Dark Elves Army Book (8th edition)''

->Living as they do in the shadow of the ever-present threat of starvation, is it at all surprising that the Ratmen are [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder constantly at each others' throats?]] Theirs is a society of hunger - a world red in tooth and claw - in which each individual must be read to look to his own survival and in which every living thing is automatically judged by its potential as either food or threat; a world without pity, mercy or compassion, where only strength and cunning are respected. A world in which there is only one law, one maxim, which holds any sway. The law that says kill-or-be-killed, eat-or-be-eaten, it's the survival of the fittest. It is the law of the wilderness.
->Above all else, it is the law of the rat.
-->--''[[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}} The Loathsome Ratmen]]''

->'''''Strength Above All:''''' [[MightMakesRight You shall rule until a stronger one arises]]. Then you must grow mightier and meet the challenge, or fall to your own ruin.
-->-- '''Oath of Conquest tenets''', ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons: 5th Edition''

->''"I do not demand bootlicking from the higher mortal. I wish that he stand tall and forge for himself a path of greatness. You who are unwilling, you will do well to serve your masters - let yourself wear chains and serve a higher purpose, and be grateful. But if you count yourself a superior mortal, stand tall! Yet know that ''I'' will not be there to raise you up. You must raise ''yourself'' up, on your own terms. You must make yourself great, as I have forged superiority for myself."''
-->-- '''The Book of [[PhysicalGod Roark]]''', ''{{VideoGame/Lusternia}}''

->''"That's right everybody, it's that time of year again: Happy Birthday. You know the rules, everybody at the government-mandated maximum age needs to report to an ethnological redundancy associate ''toute suite''. Lookin' through your files here...the following is a complete list of employees who need to snuff it: ''[ahem]'' Dorothy Russell, Age 98. End of list. Sorry about that, Dorothy. You had a good ninety-seven years, time to stop hoggin' all the resources. Leave some nutrient paste for the rest of us, why don't you. Cave Johnson--age fifty-one--we're done here."''
-->--'''Cave Johnson''', ''Videogame/Portal2''

->''"Trouble is caused by unemployment, and unemployment comes from poor economic performance and ''lazy'' people. If ''you'' had job, would you steal a car? [[InsaneTrollLogic Of course not!]] And if you had a high-rise condo, a mistress, and a seat on the board, would you run around graffitiing your name all over town and making a nuisance of yourself, [[PrettyFlyForAWhiteGuy spinning on your back, and poppin' and lockin'?]] Not a hope. It's simple: If you don't have a job, starve. Get out of my constituency--by force if necessary--and starve."''
-->--'''Congressman [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed Alex Shrub]]''', ''Pressing Issues'' (Radio/GTARadio)

->''"Natural selection leaves the survivors '''STRONGER''' and '''BETTER!''' Humans have escaped this winnowing for '''FAR TOO LONG'''."''
--> -- '''Albert Wesker''', ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5''

-->--'''Molag Bal''', ''Videogame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim''

->''"Down here, it's KILL or BE KILLED!"''
-->--'''Flowey''', ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}''

--> -- '''Hans Davis''', ''VideoGame/MetalGearAcid''

->''"'''I have a dream!''' That one day every person in this nation will control their own destiny. A nation of the truly free, dammit. A nation of ''action'', not words, ruled by ''strength'', not committee! Where the law changes to suit the individual, not the other way around. Where power and justice are back where they belong: in the hands of the people! Where every man is free to think - to act - for himself! Fuck all these limp-dick lawyers and chickenshit bureaucrats. Fuck this 24-hour Internet spew of trivia and celebrity bullshit! ''Fuck American pride! Fuck the media!'' '''''FUCK ALL OF IT!''''' America is diseased. Rotten to the core. There's no saving it - we need to pull it out by the roots. Wipe the slate clean. '''''BURN IT DOWN!''''' And from the ashes a new America will be born. Evolved, but untamed! The weak will be purged and the strongest will thrive - free to live as they see fit, they'll make America ''great again!'' ...In my new America, people will die and kill for what they BELIEVE! Not for money. not for oil! Not for what they're told is right. Every man will be free to fight his own wars!"''
--> '''--[[spoiler:Senator Steven Armstrong]]''', ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance''

->The time has come to an end\\
Yeah – this is what nature planned\\

Rules of Nature!

->"''I have observed this world for thousand of years, since what you would call the ancient times... The human spirit was once beautiful. The strong ruled the people, while the people respected the strong, cursing their own weakness. It was thanks to the chaos of that ancient world that the spirits of humans were made beautiful! But the foolish notion of "order" has caused the human spirit to wither and decay. "Order" is nothing but comfort of the weak! The weak only deserve the comfort of death!"''
-->-- '''Asura''', ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney''

->''"Don't get me wrong, I see the logic, but it's kind of...animal logic. Still, you made your bed. Now you've gotta lie in it. If you're gonna be an animal, ''be an animal''. Own it! The losers, the weak? Throw 'em away! That's how nature works, my friends - that's life at its most pure! You get me?"''
-->-- '''Dio''', ''VisualNovel/VirtuesLastReward''

->''"Evolution requires sacrifice."''
-->-- '''Sigma''', ''VideoGame/MegaManX''

->''"[[ShutUpKirk Are you done bitching?]] You could never shut down the [[MurderInc Association]]. Fighting to be the best is human nature. It's evolution. Who are we to try and stand in its way?"''

->'''Shepard:''' ''I still can't wrap my head around that, reading information like you do.''
->'''Javik:''' ''For my people, it was as natural as breathing.''
->'''Shepard:''' ''Evolution's an amazing force.''
->'''Javik:''' ''Our scientists believed it was the only force that mattered. They called it the "cosmic imperative". The strong flourished. The weak perished.''
-->-- ''VideoGame/MassEffect3''

->''"I question the way in which our society is designed. No matter what strength a person has, it is the station he is born into that controls his destiny. And you cannot control where you will be born. Do you believe that a person of low birth should simply endure the curse of his station? I think not. If you are stronger than those around you, you should benefit from your strength. This is why I will use my strength to remake this world. Class and rank will not matter. Human and sub-human will not matter. The strong will possess everything. The weak will submit to their will. Is this not the meaning of peace?”''
-->--'''King Ashnard''', ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance''

-> ''"You must be a straggler who got left behind. The strong will always vanquish the weak. You have only your own frailty to blame."''
-->-- '''Infinite''', to the Avatar, ''Videogame/SonicForces''

-> ''"'Tis only survival of the fittest. All of these cretins would do the same in his shoes, given the chance."''
-->-- '''Morrigan''', ''Videogame/DragonAgeOrigins''

->'''Serpent''': By joining us, the weak are freed from their suffering! The chosen one, Mega Man, will save the people! That is the glory of Project Haven!\\
'''Aile''': Mega Man will save the people!? How is sacrificing the people of this country going to save them!?\\
'''Serpent''': Precious misguided little girl. It's time for you to come off of your high horse. Our power is the result of many sacrifices. We are the chosen ones. It is destiny for the last of our kind to rule. Model W is not about destruction. It is about rebirth and evolution! I am the giver of meaning to the lives of people who cannot keep up with the tide of evolution.\\
'''Aile''': The only thing you are is afraid. Afraid of your past. Afraid of yourself and what you've become! Your fear is what drives your desire to rule! You think this is evolution!? Is this really what you want!?\\
'''Serpent''': You think I'm doing this all out of fear? That's nonsense! The spirits of the people have given me what I need to obtain the power of Model W! Look at you! You're only able to stand before me today thanks to the power of Model Z absorbed from that red Mega Man! [[CallBack Evolution requires sacrifice]]! The ones who will determine what needs to be sacrificed are the Mega Men!
-->--''VideoGame/MegaManZX''

->''It is only right that I should take your realm. For none among you has the power to stop me!''
-->-- '''Gaius van Baelsar''', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV''

->''My philosophy is 'strength from chaos and adversity'. It is about improving oneself by overcoming obstacles.''
-->-- '''[[GodOfChaos Zamorak]]''', ''VideoGame/{{Runescape}}''

-->--'''Shadow Masayoshi Shido''', ''VideoGame/Persona5''

-->--'''[[AbusiveParents Rip Blazkowicz]]''', ''VideoGame/WolfensteinIITheNewColossus''

->'''[[spoiler:Aurelie]]''': This... this is horrible! Don't you even feel remorse for what you're doing?\\
'''Darkloft''': Remorse? What on earth for? If these sniveling wretches really cared for their petty little lives, they would have sought out their own power. Instead, they waste their energy, then wail and moan when someone stronger crushes them.
-->--''VideoGame/LuxarenAllure''

->''"This world is weak. Soft. We have forgotten what it is to be strong. You know our heroes used to be gods. And now our heroes are godless. Weak, feeble, diseased. We let the weak dictate to the powerful and we are shocked to find ourselves adrift. But history knows the value of sacrifice. Of culling the herd so that it stays strong. Over and over, the lives of the many have outweighed the lives of the few, this is how we’ve survived. And we've forgotten... and now the bill has come due. Now, the collapse is upon us, and this time the lives of the few outweigh the lives of the many. And when a nation that's never known hunger or desperation descends into madness, we’ll be ready. We will cull the herd. We will do what needs to be done."''
-->--'''Jacob Seed''', ''VideoGame/FarCry5''

->''"They kill you, they're better. You kill them, you're better."''
-->--'''Kuben Blisk''', ''VideoGame/{{Titanfall}}'' franchise

->''"The stronger prey on the weaker. Don't you know? That's biology!"''
-->--'''[[spoiler:[[MonsterWhale Hungry Humphrey]]]]''', ''VideoGame/{{Omori}}''

->''"The world is changing! Therefore, it's only natural that evolution takes its course. Now, line up to be exterminated!"''
-->--'''[[spoiler:Lumine]]''', ''VideoGame/MegaManX8''

->Here you are, still arrogant fools, still striving to subjugate and destroy all of the world's beautiful monsters! How do you not realize it? How do you not ''see'' that monsters are your ''superiors''? Think on it, and you will know--humanity ''needs'' monsters! Without monsters, we are the apex predators of the world, and thus we allow ourselves to ''sink into self-satisfied mediocrity!'' We need monsters to keep us ''sharp!'' To prove our ''mettle!'' To ''cull the herd!'' Remove the indolent! The weak! ''The aged and the infirm!'' Those not worthy to ''survive!'' the more dangerous the monsters--the more ''deadly'' they are-- the ''stronger'' the remains of humanity will become, and my beautiful, glorious monsters--''they'' will be the most dangerous--the most ''deadly''-- of all! I WILL GATHER MY FORCES, AND UNLEASH A RAVENING HORDE THAT WILL SCOUR THE LAND! '''''THERE IS NO NEED TO THANK ME!'''''
-->--[[spoiler:'''Dr. Dimitri Vapnoople''']] mere seconds after de-lobotomization, ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' ([[https://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20190424 Vol. 19 p. 94]])

->''As he notes to Abel, “it’s only cannibalism if we’re equals.” Which is not to say that {{Series/Hannibal}} views his victims as less than human; at least, not in the case of his “big ticket” victims. Rather, it’s that Hannibal is superhuman... In other words, the reason that Hannibal gets to eat us with impunity is that he’s going to enjoy the taste of us much more than we enjoy our lowly little lives. ''
-->--'''[[http://www.eruditorumpress.com/blog/meat-is-murder-hannibal-true-detective-and-the-anthropocene-extinction/ El Sandifer]]''', "Meat is Murder"

->''"The message is clear: in this new, dog-eat-dog world, that's all survivors are good for, the food and [[IfYouDieICallYourStuff tools in their backpack.]]\\\
So, what if it had turned out that guy was himself a badass zombie-killing machine? That'd come in pretty useful, right? Well, maybe they could tell by looking at him that wasn't the case (no visible weapons, not [[BloodIsTheNewBlack covered in enough zombie blood]])...How many people do ''you'' know who are truly worthless?"''
-->--'''''{{Website/Cracked}}''''', "Four Reasons ''Series/TheWalkingDead'' Hates Humans More Than Zombies"

->''"All protecting kids does is preserve the weak, it produces spoiled brats like all these millennials and brain-dead TikTokers. It degenerates and disintegrates our culture, our gene pool. It makes us pathetic. I'll tell you what, Ahospice, you're an anti-vaxxer, you like quotes from people pretending to be scientists, so here's one for you:\\\
"The law of survival of the fittest was not made by man, and it cannot be abrogated by man, we can only, by interfering with it produce the survival of the unfittest" - William Graham Sutner\\\
And by taking care of these kids, by using your fucking fake science to justify your pseudo-darwinism, you do nothing but make a mockery of me. You do nothing to produce survival of the fit. And I can't have that."''
-->--'''Darwinism''', '''''{{WebAnimation/Grej}}'''''

-->--'''Felix''', ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue''

->'''Qrow:''' You should come back, Raven. The only way we’d beat [[BigBad her]] is by working together. All of us.
->'''Raven:''' You’re the one who left. The tribe raised us, and you turned your back on them.
->'''Qrow:''' They were killers and thieves.
->'''Raven:''' They were your family.
->'''Qrow:''' [[MissingMom You]] [[{{Hypocrite}} have a]] ''[[{{Hypocrite}} very]]'' [[{{Hypocrite}} skewed perception of that word.]]
->'''Raven:''' I lead our people now. And as leader, I will do everything in my power to ensure our survival.
->'''Qrow:''' I saw. The people of [[DoomedHometown Shion]] saw, too.
->'''Raven:''' The weak die, the strong live. Those are the rules.
-->--''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}''

->'''Ludwig:''' Be it mice or men, sheep or ram, slave and master...there is an order of things. We do not dictate it, we cannot control it, but there is always one above. Life is but a pyramid.
->'''Hyzenthlay:''' [[ArmorPiercingQuestion And who's at the top]]?
->'''Ludwig:''' ....[[BadassBoast Me]].
-->--''WebVideo/SatelliteCity''

->'''Jamie''': What’s your perfect world?
->'''Sylvester''': A world where everyone is surrounded by people who are striving to be their best, because we only grow as people when we’re around people who are equal to or better than us in intelligence, skill, and industry. It’s in stupidity and stagnation that we fail as a species.
->'''Jamie''': But ethically? Morally?
->'''Sylvester''': I just gave my answer. In a perfect world, we’re all different, ethically and morally. We argue, we challenge each other, and everyone is working to make their ideas better and more… more.
->'''Jamie''': A lot of hostility, arguments, competition.
->'''Sylvester''': Nothing good awaiting us as a species if we lose that. Stagnation.
->'''Jamie''': I can’t help but notice you haven’t mentioned anything about the positive human relationships. Only the confrontational ones.
->'''Sylvester''': Humans are a social species. Push us, pressure us, challenge us, and the weak elements will break apart, the stronger elements will band together.
->'''Jamie''': Wallace’s law, applied to a group.
->'''Sylvester''': Don’t get me wrong, I’m not proposing something where we’re all supposed to act like animals, or that we should model ourselves after them. I’m saying humans are humans, and being human means struggling. In the course of those struggles, we form the strongest bonds. Could be us and a life and death struggle with a pair of people who want to stalk and kill us, or two people working in a tea shop in a town that’s gotten embroiled in a civil war.\\
'''Jamie''': Seems like your worldview is a little bit, uh, conveniently ''you?''\\
'''Sylvester''': Of course it is. I’m ''eleven.'' Ish.
-->--''Literature/{{Twig}}''

-->--''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'', "Goliad"

-->-- '''Fire Lord Ozai''', ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': "Into The Inferno"

->'''Prince Edgar:''' Why should only penguins survive?
->'''Sunny:''' Yeah, what's wrong with being a duck?
->'''King Charlatan:''' They're weak!
-->--''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyAndFriends'', "Baby, Its Cold Outside"

-->--'''Dr. Dimitri Vapnoople''' mere seconds after de-lobotomization, ''Webcomic/GirlGenius''

-->--'''Felix''', ''Machinima/RedVsBlue''

-->--'''Darwinism''', ''WebAnimation/Grej''

And by taking care of these kids, by using your fucking fake science to justify your pseudo-darwinism, you do nothing but make a mockery of me. You do nothing to produce survival of the fit. And I can't have that.\\\"''

\\\

\\\
And by taking care of these kids, by using your fucking fake science to justify your pseudo-darwinism, you do nothing but make a mockery of me. You do nothing to produce survival of thefit. And I can't have that.\\\"''

->''"All protecting kids does is preserve the weak, it produces spoiled brats like all these millennials and brain-dead TikTokers. It degenerates and disintegrates our culture, our gene pool. It makes us pathetic.
I'll tell you what, Ahospice, you're an anti-vaxxer, you like quotes from people pretending to be scientists, so here's one for you:

"The law of survival of the fittest was not made by man, and it cannot be abrogated by man, we can only, by interfering with it produce the survival of the unfittest" - William Graham Sutner

And by taking care of these kids, by using your fucking fake science to justify your pseudo-darwinism, you do nothing but make a mockery of me. You do nothing to produce survival of the unfit. And I can't have that."''

-->--'''Count Magnus Lee''', ''LightNovel/VampireHunterD''

-->-- ''Fanfic/{{Sanctuary}}'', a ''[[WesternAnimation/{{The Lion King|1994}} Lion King]]'' fanfic by Kovukono

->'''Hyzenthlay:''' [[ArmorPiercingQuestion And who's at the top?]]
->'''Ludwig:''' ....[[BadassBoast Me.]]

->''I've watched you from deep behind Norman's cowardly eyes, struggling to have '''eeeeeverything''' you want while the world tries to make you choose. Gods don't have to choose...we take!''