Charles Darwin's theories on evolution had a major impact on Victorian ideas about the world and humanity's place in it. His theory of natural selection suggested that species that could survive intense competition and adapt to their environment were genetically superior and were the ones to survive. Many people in the Victorian era took Darwin's theory one step further to make assumptions about the social classes. They falsely believed that the upper class was genetically superior to the working class. How does Wells critique the flawed principles of social Darwinism in The Time Machine?

The Eloi lacked most of the qualities that members of the Victorian aristocratic class prided themselves on and considered superior, such as intelligence, strength, and creativity. The Time Traveller initially tries to explain away the apparent contradiction between the Eloi's successe as the surviving species and their lack of intelligence using the theory of evolution. Being unaware of the true nature of the Morlocks, he theorizes that the Eloi have adapted to a life without danger or disease and have no need for any kind of work.

Wells explains how a human from his own time who is intelligent, strong, and had emotions would be a hindrance to the existing social order of the world of the Eloi. In this way he clarifies to the audience that evolution is just a response to the changing surroundings, which would not necessarily make a species better; evolution would only make a species better suited to its environment. He thereby strongly critiques social Darwinism, which based many of its principals on a flawed understanding of the theory of evolution. Instead, he suggest that the successful species is not necessarily the "best" species. In the same way, he suggest that the aristocratic class at the top of the social order is not necessarily better than the working class, intellectually or biologically.