Social Statics

Herbert Spencer (1820 - 1903)

Social Statics, or The Conditions essential to Happiness specified, and the First of them Developed is an 1851 book by the British polymath Herbert Spencer. In it, he uses the term "fitness" in applying his ideas of Lamarckian evolution to society, saying for example that "It is clear that any being whose constitution is to be moulded into fitness for new conditions of existence must be placed under those conditions. Or, putting the proposition specifically — it is clear that man can become adapted to the social state, only by being retained in the social state. This granted, it follows that as man has been, and is still, deficient in those feelings which, by dictating just conduct, prevent the perpetual antagonism of individuals and their consequent disunion, some artificial agency is required by which their union may be maintained. Only by the process of adaptation itself can be produced that character which makes social equilibrium spontaneous."
Despite its commonly being attributed to this book, it was not until his Principles of Biology of 1864 that Spencer coined the phrase "survival of the fittest", which he would later apply to economics and biology. This was a key tenet of so-called Social Darwinism.
Economist Murray Rothbard called Social Statics "the greatest single work of libertarian political philosophy ever written. (Wikipedia)

Genre(s): Business & Economics

Language: English

Section Chapter Reader Time
Play 00 Preface and Introduction: The Doctrine of Expediency, The Doctrine of the Moral Sense Nesanel Bechhofer
00:55:21
Play 01 Introduction: Lemma I Craig Franklin
00:16:51
Play 02 Introduction: Lemma II Craig Franklin
00:33:03
Play 03 Part 1, Chapter 1, Definition of Morality Nesanel Bechhofer
00:06:46
Play 04 Part 1, Chapter 2, The Evanescence of Evil Gerwin Kramer
00:16:07
Play 05 Part 1, Chapter 3, The Divine Idea; and the Conditions of its Realization Gerwin Kramer
00:15:09
Play 06 Part 2, Chapter 4, Derivation of a First Principle Gerwin Kramer
00:34:38
Play 07 Part 2, Chapter 5, Secondary Derivation of a First Principle Nesanel Bechhofer
00:21:52
Play 08 Part 2, Chapter 6, First Principle Nesanel Bechhofer
00:09:53
Play 09 Part 2, Chapter 7, Application of this First Principle, Chapter 8, The Rights of Life and Personal Liberty Nesanel Bechhofer
00:05:28
Play 10 Part 2, Chapter 9, The Right to the Use of the Earth Nesanel Bechhofer
00:18:53
Play 11 Part 2, Chapter 10, The Right of Property Nesanel Bechhofer
00:16:21
Play 12 Part 2, Chapter 11, The Right of Property in Idea, Chapter 12, The Right of Property in Character Lucretia B.
00:29:18
Play 13 Part 2, Chapter 13, The Right of Exchange, Chapter 14, The Right of Free Speech, Chapter 15, Further Rights Lucretia B.
00:23:04
Play 14 Part 2, Chapter 16, The Rights of Women, Part 1 Lucretia B.
00:31:00
Play 15 Part 2, Chapter 16, The Rights of Women, Part 2 Lucretia B.
00:24:37
Play 16 Part 2, Chapter 17, The Rights of Children, Part 1 Lucretia B.
00:37:03
Play 17 Part 2, Chapter 17, The Rights of Children, Part 2 Lucretia B.
00:29:00
Play 18 Part 3, Chapter 18, Political Rights playonwords
00:25:04
Play 19 Part 3, Chapter 19, The Right to Ignore the State playonwords
00:24:57
Play 20 Part 3, Chapter 20, The Constitution of the State, Part 1 playonwords
00:35:30
Play 21 Part 3, Chapter 20, The Constitution of the State, Part 2 Jim Locke
00:45:49
Play 22 Part 3, Chapter 21, The Duty of the State, Part 1 THBosc
00:27:04
Play 23 Part 3, Chapter 21, The Duty of the State, Part 2 THBosc
00:29:06
Play 24 Part 3, Chapter 22, The Limit of State-Duty, Part 1 Kalynda
00:36:54
Play 25 Part 3, Chapter 22, The Limit of State-Duty, Part 2 Kalynda
00:07:34
Play 26 Part 3, Chapter 23, The Regulation of Commerce playonwords
00:20:46
Play 27 Part 3, Chapter 24, Religious Establishments Larry Wilson
00:13:56
Play 28 Part 3, Chapter 25, Poor-Laws Jim Locke
00:43:00
Play 29 Part 3, Chapter 26, National Education, Part 1 Jim Locke
00:34:58
Play 30 Part 3, Chapter 26, National Education, Part 2 Jim Locke
00:30:25
Play 31 Part 3, Chapter 27, Government Colonization THBosc
00:31:51
Play 32 Part 3, Chapter 28, Sanitary Supervision, Part 1 Jim Locke
00:33:04
Play 33 Part 3, Chapter 28, Sanitary Supervision, Part 2 Jim Locke
00:25:14
Play 34 Part 3, Chapter 29, Currency, Postal Arrangements THBosc
00:23:32
Play 35 Part 4, Chapter 30, General Considerations, Part 1 Jim Locke
00:44:42
Play 36 Part 4, Chapter 30, General Considerations, Part 2 Jim Locke
00:36:22
Play 37 Part 4, Chapter 30, General Considerations, Part 3 ABFries
00:36:11
Play 38 Part 4, Chapter 31, Summary ABFries
00:13:16
Play 39 Part 4, Chapter 32, Conclusion THBosc
00:29:57