ABSTRACT
Spencer’s writings on politics sit uncomfortably with his philosophical system. With the exception of Social Statics () and Political Institutions () his political works were a series of rhetorical or tactical statements written in response to the momentary concerns of his contemporaries. Some of his political values, such as his anti-aristocratic bias, remain constant, while others, such as the need to promote women’s suff rage, are refl ections of positions briefl y held by liberals in the early Victorian era. Compared to the sober and careful analyses that accompanied his scholarly books on psychology, metaphysics, biology and sociology, some of Spencer’s political statements have an ephemeral air. Like newsprint, they provide a record of momentary concerns, that no one would dignify with the label “universal truths”. However, despite the transient nature of his more polemical utterances, his more serious endeavours had an overall direction. As early as the publication of “ e Proper Sphere of Government” in he possessed the principles for which his technical writings later provided an empirical basis. at these technical writings sometimes failed to support his ideals reveals one of Spencer’s virtues as an intellectual. He never completely controlled his data so as to fi t his pre-ordained writing plans. ere was a stubborn scientifi c honesty to his writings that often caused facts to win over coherency.
