 Hodgson and Knudsen single out David George Ritchie and Thorstein Veblen, crediting the former with anticipating both dual inheritance theory and universal Darwinism.Despite the stereotypical image of social Darwinism that developed later in the century, neither Ritchie nor Veblen were on the political right.The early years of the 20th century and particularly the First World War saw biological concepts and metaphors shunned by most social sciences.