Hunting Down Social Darwinism Will This Canard Go Extinct

294 Chapter 11

contrast,a culturewhoseanimatingphilosophyis Platonism—drivenby fideism,altru-
ism,governism,and socialcollectivism—shallresultin stagnationand want.The overall
attitudeof the cultureis the sumof variousindividualchoices.Thatappliesparticularly
to the degreethatthe cultureis one of freethinking,as opposedto one wherethe govern-
mentcensorsdissentandfinanciallysubsidizespropaganda.Ignoringtheseconsidera-
tions,Spencerproclaimed,“Ideasdo not governand overthrowthe world.”^131 He attrib-
utedimpersonalfactors—completelyexternalto conscioushumandecision—to be the
drivingforcesbehindculturalevolution.^132 He particularlypronouncedthatthe main
motivationof humanactionis emotion,not reason,and that philosophywas thereforenot
a majorfactor—as if peoplewerenot emotionalabouttheirphilosophies.^133 It is ironic
thatSpenceragainindirectlydisprovedone of his ownconclusions.Contraryto Spencer,
individualhumanchoicesdo matter,suchas the choiceof variousscholarsto impugn
Spencer’s politicalsupportfor freeenterpriseandLockeanrights.To the degreethat
importantWesternopinionleadershavechosento rejectSpencer’s politicalconclusions,
we havesufferedterriblyfor it.
As Spencerrecognized,governismis a tremendousproblem.As notedin BookOne,
somemisguidedlibertariansthereforeconcludethatto preservelibertyagainstgovern-
ism,we mustopt for whattheymisjudgeto be tyranny’s opposite:anarchy.I discussed
the inadequacyof anarchyinFOPA. NextI shalladdressthe otherfailuresof the libertar-
ian anarchists’ proposals.

NOTES

1. Spencerdoesnot seemto be the firstintellectualwhousedthe termorganismto describesociety,
   however.Spencer’s precursorandideologicalopponent,socialistphilosopherAugusteComte,alsode-
   scribedsocietyas an organism,as can be seenin Comte1983b,385;and Comte1983c,420,427.I should
   notethatunlikeSpencer,Comtereallydid intendto conveya pro-collectivismmessagewhendescribing
   all of societyas a singleunifiedorganism.It is also tellingthat Comteusedthe titleSocialStatics, in Comte
   1983c,beforeHerbertSpencerdid.In this context,the termstaticsrefersto factsand figures;the titlesocial
   staticsroughlymeans“factsand figureson society.”


2. Spencer,“TheSocialOrganism,”The WestminsterReview, January1860,republishedas Spencer
   1981h,397,para.17, accessedonlineSaturday,May26, 2007.He madea list of “the leadingdifferences
   betweensocietiesandindividualorganisms” inibid., 394–96, para.13–17, http://tinyurl.com/2xruy6,ac-
   cessedSaturday,May26, 2007.


3. Spencer1981h,384-85,para.3, http://tinyurl.com/2xruy6,accessedSaturday,May26, 2007.


4. Spencer1981h,388, para.5, http://tinyurl.com/2xruy6,accessedSaturday,May26, 2007.


5. L. A. White1968,15. R. L. Carneiro1981,186, broughtthis statementof White’s to my attention.


6. R. L. Carneiro1981,186.


7. L. A. White1975,123.


8. M. Rothschild1990,xi–xiv.


9. J. Jacobs2000,10.


10. J. Jacobs2000,10.


11. Spencer1981h,393–416, para.18- 35, http://tinyurl.com/2xruy6,accessedSaturday,May26, 2007.


12. M. Friedmanand RoseFriedman1990,tradepaperback,25.


13. M. Rothschild1990,343–47.


14. For the citation,see M. Rothschild1990,345, and thenibid., 407 n. 3.


15. To see whatI mean,readAllanChase1980,paperback.


16. M. Rothschild1990,xii, 344–45. Inibid., xiii, he alsotriesto distancehimselffromE. O. Wilson’s
    sociobiology,whichhe accusesof beinga modernrevivalof the sortof politicallyincorrecteugenicism
    withwhichhe doesnot wantto be associated.


17. Borsook2000,72.


18. “Ethnocentrism,”The AmericanHeritageDictionaryof the EnglishLanguage4th ed. 2006,qtd.by
    “Ethnocentrism,” Dictionary.Com, http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ethnocentrism, accessed
    Wednesday,October1, 2014.


19. Shone2004,http://tinyurl.com/3dh22tandhttp://tinyurl.com/363mwx,accessedTuesday,May29,
    2007.Universityof MichiganpsychologistRichardE. Nisbettis one of the few scholarswhodisagrees.
    Accordingto RichardE. Nisbett2003,4, “Theword‘ethnocentric’ is of Greekorigin.Thetermresulted