Internet Exercises

Exercise 1

Go to http://socserv2.socsci.mcmaster.ca/~econ/ugcm/3ll3/spencer/manvssta and scroll all the way to the end of Spencer's "Man versus the State" until you reach the section entitled "Postscript." Read this Postscript and then answer the following questions:

a. What are Spencer's views on the relationship between theory and practice? How does this relationship manifest itself in militant societies?

b. What does Spencer mean when he talks about the doctrine of limitation? Does he think that the society in which he was living could fully realize this doctrine? Why or why not?

c. Explain how the concept of the "survival of the fittest" functions in militant societies.

d. How does Spencer describe the work of philanthropists in this selection?

Exercise 2

Go to http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/carnegie/peopleevents/pande03.html. There is a summary of a PBS "American Experience" program about Andrew Carnegie. Click on "Program Transcript" and read the transcript. There is a section in which Spencer's influence on Carnegie is discussed. Then, answer the following questions:
a. Why did Carnegie support Spencer's notion of the survival of the fittest?
b. How did Carnegie feel about the state intervening in economic affairs—e.g. regulating an 8-hour workday?
c. Did Carnegie follow Spencer's beliefs about the role of philanthropy in society?
d. When Spencer traveled to Pittsburgh to visit Carnegie, how did he react to the city itself?