Darwinism or
Natural Selection does still happen today, although it is stunted a bit by
society. Let me explain: Natural Selection does not only root out physical problems but mental ones as well. Humans have developed the ability to think, adapt and generally solve problems. This is our strength, not physical
prowess. So natural selection should, therefore, root out those with poor reasoning skills.
Society stunts this process, here is an example: A
Heroin addict
ODs on the drug and is sent to the
ER for treatment; s/he survives due to the treatment (when they would have died without it) and is released. Ok, so society made Heroin available, but it also saved the addict that overdosed on the
crap by means of the social norm that states it is unethical, immoral, unhuman or what-have-you to let someone die in the street (for one thing it is a pain in the ass the clean up). Natural selection was foiled by society.
On the other hand society and technology have provided an environment with a different set of hazards than the
African Interior offering seemingly unlimited possibilities for death or injury (see
Darwin Awards). An example of this comes from
Salt Lake City,
Utah:
SLC recently invested in a new
Light Rail system that runs on the street level (as opposed to a
subway or
elevated train). The
Darwin Award goes to the woman who decided to race the train to the crossing.... on foot. She was trying to cross the tracks ahead of the train to make it to the boarding platform. They ended up washing her off the train with a hose.
Ok, so I may be insensitive, but this is a prime example of Better Darwinism through Technology.