Herbert Spencer (United Kingdom, 1820–1903), philosopher, psychologist, and sociologist, advanced what he called the "Law of equal liberty" and argued against liberal theory promoting more activist government, which he dubbed "a new form of Toryism." He supported a state limited in its duties to the defense of persons and their property. For Spencer, voluntary cooperation was the hallmark of the most vibrant form of society, accommodating the widest diversity of members and the greatest diversity of goals. Spencer's evolutionary approach has been characterized as an extension of Adam Smith's "invisible hand" explanation of economic order; his extensive work on sympathy (in psychology as well as the foundation of ethics, particularly in The Data of Ethics) explicitly carried on Smith's approach in The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Spencer is frequently characterized as a leading Social Darwinist.
- Some literature:
- Social Statics, 1851
- Principles of Ethics, 1879, 1892
- The Man versus the State, 1884
- Essays, Scientific, Political and Speculative, 1892
Read more about this topic: List Of Liberal Theorists, Mill and Further, The Development of (international) Liberalism
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