262 Chapter 11
to characterizethe habitatthata nightwatchmanstatecreated,readersendedup assess-
ing Spenceras muchmoreof a utilitariancollectivistthanhe trulywas.^1
In fact,Spencerprefacedto his readersthatalthoughhe wishedto drawparallels
betweensocietiesand“organisms,” he did not basethis theoryon politicallycollectivist
assumptions.To someextent,he continuedto understandthateveryhumanbeingis a
unituntohimself,not an expendableor interchangeablecomponentof a largeranimal.To
establishthathe remaineda politicalindividualistcommittedto Lockeanism,Spencer
refrainedthat
we haveherea tolerablydecidedcontrastbetweenbodies-politicand individualbodies;
andit is one whichwe shouldkeepconstantlyin view.For it remindsus thatwhile,in
individualbodies,the welfareof all otherpartsis rightlysubservientto the nervous
system,... in bodies-politicthe samethingdoesnot hold.... It is wellthat the livesof all
partsof an animalshouldbe mergedin the life of the whole,becausethe wholehas a
corporateconsciousnesscapableof happinessor misery.But it is not so withsociety;
sinceits livingunitsdo not andcannotloseindividualconsciousness,andsincethe
communityas a wholehas no corporateconsciousness.Thisis an everlastingreasonwhy
the welfaresof citizenscannotrightlybe sacrificedto somesupposedbenefitof the State,
andwhy,on the otherhand,the Stateis to be maintainedsolelyfor the benefitof the
citizens.The corporatelife mustherebe subservientto the livesof the parts,insteadof the
livesof the partssubservientto the corporatelife.^2Althoughhe andhis contemporariesremainedunawareof kin selection,Spencerascer-
tainedthat the structuresof humansocietieswerethe consequenceof somesort of natural
selection.He therefromdeducedthat therewas somethinginherentlybiologicaland natu-
ral abouthowcustoms,mores,economicinstitutions,andeconomicorganizationshave
developedin societies.Spencerissuedtheseobservationsin an 1860paperwiththe mis-
leadingtitleof “TheSocialOrganism.” In this piecehe statesthatgovernmentis like a
society’s brain.In turn,turnpikesand canalsand railroads—wherebygoodsand services
are transportedacrossgreatdistances—are comparableto arteriescarryingbloodcellsto
variousorgansto keepthemfunctional.As a supplement,he discussessimilaritiesbe-
tweenthe growingcomplexitiesof developingsocietieswiththe growingcomplexitiesof
prehistoricinvertebratesas theyevolvedfromsingle-celledlife formsto multi-cellularsea
beasts.In this respect,Spenceranticipatesthe nascentscienceof EmergentComplexity.
Thereare somepassagesof this essaywhereecosystemappearsto be moreappropriate
a wordthanorganismfor whatSpencerdelineates.Oneinstanceis wherehe emphasizes
thatan economydoesnot needto be micromanagedby a totalitariangovernmentto run
efficiently,as it can largelyrun itselfinsofaras the governmentsticksto upholdingcon-
sensualistrights.Thatthe mostproductivemarketeconomiesare not “put together”
predominantlyby centraltotalitariangovernmentcontrol,Spencerwrotein this treatise
is a truthso manifest,thatit seemswonderful[he means“unbelievable”] menshould
everhaveoverlookedit.... Youneedbut to... observesocialorganizationin its leading
traits,to see thattheseare [not]supernatural,... but are consequenton generalnatural
causes.Theone caseof the divisionof laboursufficesto provethis.It has not beenby
commandof anyrulerthatsomemenhavebecomemanufacturerswhileothershave
remainedcultivatorsof the soil.In Lancashire,millionshavedevotedthemselvesto the
makingof cotton-fabricsin Yorkshire,anothermillionlivesby producingwoollens,and
the potteryof Staffordshire,the cutleryof Sheffield,the hardwareof Bingham,severally
occupytheirhundredsof thousands.Theseare the largefactsin the structureof English
society;but we can ascribethemneitherto [supernatural]miracle,nor to legislation.It is
not by “the heroas king,” anymorethan“collectivewisdom,” thatmenhavebeen
segregatedintoproducers,wholesaledistributors,andretaildistributors.Ourindustrial
organization,fromits mainoutlinesdownto its minutestdetails,has becomewhatit is,