The quote below was written by a prominent figure in 1889: "while the law [of competition] may be sometimes hard for the individual, it is best for the race, because it insures the survival of the fittest in every department. we accept and welcome, therefore, as conditions to which we must accommodate ourselves, great inequality of environment, the concentration of business, industrial and commercial, in the hands of a few, and the law of competition between these, as being not only beneficial, but essential for the future progress of the race." proponents of the philosophy represented by this quote believed in limited government intervention in the economy government assistance for those in poverty governmental control of utilities and transportation equal opportunities for foreign and native-born workers