progressivism, individualism, and the public ... - Telmarc Group

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The Telmarc Group PROGRESSIVISM, INDIVIDUALISM, AND THE PUBLIC INTELLECTUAL and by Laws within themselves, regulated the Properties of the private Men of their Society, and so, by Compact and Agreement, settled the Property which Labour and Industry began; and the Leagues that have been made between several States and Kingdoms, either expressly or tacitly disowning all Claim and Right to the Land in the others [sic.] Possession, have, by common Consent, given up their Pretences to their natural common Right, which originally they had to those Countries, and so have, by positive agreement, settled a Property amongst themselves, in distinct Parts and parcels of the Earth: yet there are still great Tracts of Ground to be found, which (the Inhabitants thereof not having joyned with the rest of Mankind, in the consent of the Use of their common Money) lie waste, and are more than the People, who dwell on it, do, or can make use of, and so still lie in common. Tho' this can scarce happen amongst that part of Mankind, that have consented to the use of Money." So far the Administration has breached contracts and overridden corporate law. Now, the threats and intimidation of the property holders turns four centuries of the development of democracy on its head. This is not a Rawlsian world where the least of us must have what each and every person has. This is a world which allows, supports, encourages the entrepreneur. The threats from the Administration present a true chilling effect on the future of this country! 3.2 HERBERT SPENCER Herbert Spencer was a mid 19th Century Englishman who was stimulated by the discoveries of Darwin and at the same time looked at the issues in what was the new fields of Sociology and Psychology. His scale and scope of thought was expansive for one who was not a practicing or trained scientist nor one whose base was academia. He was a prolific writer and commentator on his society as it progressed through the 19th century. In some ways he was the antipode to Dickens, the 19th century commentator on the social mores of English society. Spencer wrote on many topics from psychology, sociology, biology, philosophy, politics, and the like. He covered a great deal of ground and as expected he had his views evolve as he aged and as the times themselves changed. His major works were produced from 1850 through 1900, a dramatic period of cultural and scientific change in Britain as well as the world. In a sense it began with the European revolutions of 1848 and was completed with the beginning of the 20th Century but was all within the Victorian period of the British Empire. As such Spencer in many ways reflects the British Empire at its peak. 3.2.1 The Man Versus The State Page 48
The Telmarc Group PROGRESSIVISM, INDIVIDUALISM, AND THE PUBLIC INTELLECTUAL His most lasting work was the small book, The Man versus The State, a collection of essays which focus on the principles of individualism versus the growing control of the individual by a democratic state. In many ways Spencer in this works sets out the strongest case for the individualist as a sense of being versus the state as a sense of control. This is not a Hobbes type of argument of the king and the subject, because for Spencer the Parliament had already attained the final role as law maker and the Queen was at best a figure head. In his first essay in the book, entitled The New Toryism, Spencer bemoans the trend taking place whereby the politicians continually pass new and more restrictive laws to further deny the "natural rights' and liberties of the individual. He states: "The Whigs regarded the monarchy as a civil institution, established by the nation for the benefit of all its members; while the Tories the monarch was the delegate of heaven. 33 " He then discusses the evolving trend whereby the parties as they control power then extend power. He states: "How is it that Liberalism getting more and more into power has grown more and more coercive in its legislation? 34 " This of course is a refrain we hear all too frequently about all political parties. Spencer then details many of the impositions on individuals promulgated by Parliament. He ends with the following statement: "Finally if any …say that there is no true parallelism between the relation of people to a government where an irresponsible single ruler has been permanently elected, and relations where a responsible representative body is maintained, and from time to time re-elected, then there comes the ultimate reply … that these …restraining acts are not defensible on the ground that they proceed from a popularly chosen body; for the authority of a popularly chose body is o more to be regarded as an unlimited authority than the authority of a monarch; and that true Liberalism in the past disputed the assumption of a monarch's unlimited authority, so true Liberalism in the present will dispute the assumption of unlimited parliamentary authority." 35 Thus Spencer strongly argues against the tyranny of the monarch on the same grounds he argues against the tyranny of the parliament. The actions of a Parliament which restricts individual freed is as invidious as the actions of a tyrannical monarch. 33 See TMVTS p 9. 34 See TMVTS p. 12. 35 See TMVTSW p 25. Page 49
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The Telmarc Group and the Progressi
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progressivism, individualism, and the public ... - Telmarc Group

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