DAMON ROOT: IN DEFENSE OF HERBERT SPENCER:

Kitcher, like so many of Spencer’s other lazy critics, appears not to have understood what Spencer actually wrote. Yes, Spencer coined the potent phrase “survival of the fittest,” which Charles Darwin later added to the fifth edition of his Origin of Species. But by fit, Spencer did not mean brute force or ruthlessness. In Spencer’s view, human society was evolving from a “militant” state, which was characterized by violence and coercion, to an “industrial” one, characterized by trade and voluntary cooperation. So not only did Spencer think labor unions could be a useful check on the “harsh and cruel conduct” of employers, he also believed “the spontaneous sympathy of men for each other” to be a necessary and proper element of true liberalism. Indeed, Spencer devoted 10 chapters in his Principles of Ethics to spelling out the importance of “Positive Beneficience,” or private charity. So much for not taking “steps to protect the weak.”

There are other reasons to still admire Spencer and his work today, including his pioneering support for feminism and women’s equality and his principled anti-imperialism (in 1881 Spencer even invited Charles Darwin to join him in supporting Britain’s new Anti-Aggression League, which Darwin politely declined.) For more on how this libertarian individualist became smeared as one history’s greatest monsters, check out my 2008 article “The Unfortunate Case of Herbert Spencer.”

Don’t expect leftist critics to actually know history. Why should they, when their historical demands change so often? Easier just to create a fresh batch as needed.