Tim pondered:

'So perhaps Darwin himself beleived in "survival of the fittest."'

My guess is that he almost certainly did. He was a product of his time and class. At the time (the Industrial Revolution) most people believed that technological progress at least was inevitable. The highest form of biological progress was considered "man", especially English Man. Women didn't come into for some strange reason although a moment's thought would have revealed they are essential for biological progress.