Rejecting ‘Survival of the Fittest’
There is now a growing awareness that Darwin’s theory of “survival of the fittest” is deeply flawed and must be critically reexamined. For too long, this idea has been used to justify vast social inequalities and injustices, especially when “fittest” is interpreted to mean the strongest or most aggressive — those who overpower, dominate, and silence others. This mindset mirrors a brutal jungle reality, where ravenous predators fight over a cornered prey — not a civilized human society.
A horrifying example of this was caught on video on April 19, 2022, when armed guards of the Kiantig Development Corporation fired indiscriminately at members of the Manobo-Pulangiyon Tribal Community. Their only “offense” was defending a small 4-hectare portion of their 1,111-hectare ancestral domain — land that had already been officially recognized as theirs but was seized and converted into a vast plantation by a powerful corporation owned and managed by the town’s sitting mayor. This brutal incident clearly exposes how, in a system ruled by force and impunity, the “fittest” are those with guns, money, and political power — those who can devour the vulnerable.
But this incident is just the tip of the iceberg. A comprehensive study has confirmed that indigenous lands have become battlegrounds — not by choice, but because powerful actors are systematically grabbing them to advance political and economic agendas rooted in greed. Since 2016, at least 101 indigenous leaders and advocates have been killed for resisting these illegal land grabs — among them a 5-year-old boy and a pregnant female leader. Here, being the “fittest” means sowing terror and silencing dissent. Has anyone been held accountable? In this jungle-like system, it’s not the rule of law that prevails, but the rule of power, wealth, and violence.
This ideology — that the strongest must control everything — might work for beasts fighting for survival, but it has no place in a just and humane society. We must reject it. The values we should uphold today are sharing, cooperation, and service — principles deeply rooted in all major religions, which call us to serve the least among us. Yet, these core spiritual values are now cast aside in a world obsessed with profit, where consumerism and materialism reign supreme, even within governments, institutions, universities, and religious groups.
It is appalling to reflect on our current global economic order, where just eight families control wealth equivalent to that of 3.6 billion people — a staggering fact confirmed by Oxfam. These billionaires, amassing fortunes at the expense of both people and the planet, may justify their dominance through the same flawed logic: that they are simply the fittest in the ruthless world of business. But enough is enough.
We must reject this dehumanizing narrative that reduces people — spiritual beings made in the image of God — to mere beasts in a survival contest. This corrupted version of “survival of the fittest” has spawned a destructive development model: neoliberal capitalism. It is a growth-at-all-costs ideology that sacrifices Mother Earth and humanity at the altar of greed. History is full of evidence: when empires feel threatened, they resort to war. This must end.
We need a new paradigm — one that values life over profit, justice over dominance, and service over greed.
We no longer need to live in a jungle-like world ruled by fear, ego, and competition. The universe is evolving rapidly, opening vast new frontiers for us to explore, understand, and embrace. In this new era, there’s no need to prove who is the greatest. The true path forward is through cooperation, unity, and shared purpose—only then can humanity ascend to a higher level of consciousness rooted in spirituality.
It is time to break free from the ego-driven mindset that breeds collective madness. Each of us is a stream of consciousness, and only by connecting with one another can we gain the strength to return to the infinite Ocean of Consciousness—Love, the Formless, the Unmanifested, the Supreme Being we call God.
Today, the definition of “the fittest” has transformed. It is no longer the most dominant or ruthless, but the most cooperative, the most loving, the most committed to service. The age of Homo Sapiens—the so-called wise man—is fading, for that identity has failed us, having brought about the death of over 150 million fellow humans in the last century alone. A new humanity is emerging—Homo Pacem or Espiritus Luminus: people of peace, bearers of enlightened spirits, connected at last to that great Ocean of Love we call God.
We must remember that our essence is spiritual, not merely physical. As it is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone.” Even King Solomon, in Ecclesiastes, declared that power, wealth, and titles are meaningless—utterly meaningless. What truly matters is what lives in our hearts and how we strive to uphold what is good, what is true, and what is just. These are the treasures that endure beyond death, into the loving embrace of God. This is what it means to be Homo Pacem, to live with the light of Espiritus Luminus—the new consciousness.
This spiritual awakening is already taking root in our materialistic world, a world now beginning to shift toward deeper meaning and divine purpose. As the Bible says, “Whatever you do for the least of your brothers and sisters, you do for Me.” And as a beloved song reminds us: “Walang sinuman ang nabubuhay para sa sarili lamang. Walang sinuman ang namamatay para sa sarili lamang. Tayong lahat ay ginawa ng Panginoon, para sa isa’t isa.”
We are now being called to move from self-centered ambition to collective empowerment. The gifts God has given us are not for personal glory, but for service—to uplift one another, and to lead humanity toward its divine destiny, for the greater glory of God.
