Benjamin Kidd: Portrait of a Social Darwinist
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Book Overview
This is an intellectual biography of Benjamin Kidd, a leading Social Darwinist in the years before World War I, and a social prophet in the tradition of Comte and Spencer. His first book Social Evolution, published in 1894, was an immediate and enormous success around the world. In it, Kidd developed a collectivist form of Social Darwinism in tune with the values of Progressivism in America and the 'new liberalism' in Britain. By many it was regarded as the basis for a properly scientific sociology, and the combination of its claims to scientific methodology, with an emphasis on non-rational forces as the agents of progress accurately caught the temper of its times. Launched on his career as a writer, Kidd's subsequent books and journalism continued to exercise extraordinary influence. His 'social imperialism', linking a bio-political defence of empire with a programme of social reform, won currency in the Anglo-American world at a time of expansionary fervour.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0521107350
ISBN13:9780521107358
Release Date:April 2009
Publisher:Cambridge University Press
Length:472 Pages
Weight:1.31 lbs.
Dimensions:1.1" x 5.5" x 8.5"
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