The Coming Slavery: The Determinism

Abstract. Herbert Spencer (1820–1903) believed that Victorian Britain was moving toward a society of total regimentation (“slavery”). This movement was part of a cosmic process of evolution and dissolution. While the long-run (but not ultimate) destination of society was a “higher ” form of social organization based on voluntary and complex interpersonal relationships, the immediate tendency was retrograde—a movement away from the liberation of mankind from the bondage of previous eras. This Article explores (1) the reasons for the retrograde movement, (2) its “inevitability, ” and (3) the role of ideas in the process. The general conclusion is that in an effort to explain the general movement of social institutions and practices, Spencer develops a mechanical and deterministic approach which undermines his ability to pass normative judgements on changes in society. 1. Prologue Herbert Spencer, who was more radical than any radical and, yet, more conservative than any conservative, has asked me to give you three sets of messages this evening. The first is a happy one: “There is a good time coming! ” But, less happily, “it is very far distant” (Spencer 1904:436). Secondly, he also wants me to assure you that “the evolution of... society [to this good time] cannot in any essential way be diverted from its general course.” But, on the other hand, “though the process of social evolution is in its general character so... predetermined that its successive stages cannot be ante-dated... yet it is quite possibl