Talk:Herbert Spencer
Possible vandalism
Could someone check the other edits by User:RJJensen? He expanded this article by adding a lot of sections, but there was one place he put that Spencer was a civil engineer, with the sarcastic footnote that Spencer was "not the engineer of a train." I think he's trying to poke fun at Conservapedia here by implying that Americans don't know the difference between a civil engineer and a train engineer. I'll look over his other edits to this article and reinstate anything that checks out. -Golfpro 21:38, 5 October 2008 (EDT)
- well I did put that in because one source I looked at said he was a train engineer so I wanted to avoid any confusion. The information I added is pretty straightforward and is based on the sources listed, especially the Dict National Bio article and the Duncan biography (which is quite favorable). But not to confuse anyone we can drop the footnote. :) RJJensen 21:46, 5 October 2008 (EDT)
- Spencer's grave is near a lot of famous people including Marx--but it's pure coincidence. Lot of people contributed ideas to social darwinism in the 75 years between Spencer's coining of the term and the Nazis; there is no connection between Spencer's ideas on evolution and those that the Nazis picked up from other people. RJJensen 22:12, 5 October 2008 (EDT)
See http://www.victorianweb.org/philosophy/spencer/spencer.html for the Karl Marx connection. Spencer did ask to be buried in Highgate Cemetery next to Marx. -Golfpro 22:15, 5 October 2008 (EDT)
- I did see the Victoria Web, It does not mention the Nazis who had a very different idea than Spencer. He is indeed near Marx and various other famous people--it's a famous cemetary!--but see his main biographies -- he did not ask to be buried in any one spot, says Duncan. Spencer is a hero to many American conservatives and should not be falsely associated with Fascists or Communists. he was intensely individualistic and rejected all forms of collectivism and socialism. RJJensen 22:23, 5 October 2008 (EDT)
- London: City Guide by Sarah Johnstone & Tom Masters - (2006) - Page 195 says : On the eastern side you can visit the grave of Marx who, coincidentally, is buried
opposite the free- market economist Herbert Spencer. RJJensen 22:25, 5 October 2008 (EDT)
You say, "Spencer is a hero to many American conservatives..." Name one. Spencer supported Darwinism and Social Darwinism and corresponded with Marx; I don't think he'd be much of a hero figure to Conservatives, at least in America. Also, it's spelled "cemetery", not "cemetary". -Golfpro 22:37, 5 October 2008 (EDT)
Spencer as conservative
Did Spencer correspond with Marx??? False. there’s no mention in his biographies or his life and letters or his autobiography—and no mention in the major biographies of Marx.
See Chris Matthew Sciabarra "The First Libertarian," Liberty (aug 1999) online he says the author of The Man Versus the State transcended simple-minded anti-statism to achieve the first major statement of dialectical libertarianism.
See Libertarian Press reprints his books
See Libertarian Reader reprints his essay RJJensen 23:43, 5 October 2008 (EDT)
