Overview
Hunting Down Social Darwinism is the third and final installment in the trilogy, The Nature of Liberty. The trilogy gives a secular, ethical defense of laissez-faire capitalism, inspired by Ayn Rand’s ideas. The trilogy’s first book, The Freedom of Peaceful Action, provided the philosophic theory behind the ethics of a free-enterprise system based on the individual rights to life, liberty, and private property which John Locke described. The second installment, Life in the Market Ecosystem, explained how free enterprise functions much as a natural ecosystem wherein behavioral norms develop, bottom-up, from repeat interactions among individual participants in the economy. As such defenses of free enterprise are frequently criticized as “social Darwinism,” however, this third and final installment of the trilogy asks the question, “What is social Darwinism?” The book embarks on a hunt for the term’s meaning, explores social Darwinism’s beginnings, and examines whether it is fair to describe such nineteenth-century free-market advocates as Herbert Spencer and William Graham Sumner as social Darwinists. It then addresses the accusation that the free-market Darwinism commonly ascribed to Spencer and Sumner rationalized bigotry and founded the pseudoscience of eugenics. In the process, the book refutes various myths about the topic popularized by such scholars as Richard Hofstadter and John Kenneth Galbraith. The extent to which the popular narratives about social Darwinism prove to be inaccurate holds enormous ramifications for current controversies. It has implications for debates over the ethical appropriateness of reducing taxpayer spending on social welfare programs, and also sheds new light on the pros and cons of attempts to apply biological evolutionary theory to the study of human social institutions. Additionally discussed is the manner in which various prominent figures in economics, evolutionary psychology, and Complexity Theory have grown famous for advancing ideas which Spencer and Sumner originated, even as such figures simultaneously downplay the importance of Spencer and Sumner to their field. Following the hunt for social Darwinism, this work sums up the trilogy with some final thoughts on the importance that liberty holds for every effort to live life to the fullest.
Full Product Details
Author: Stuart K. Hayashi
Publisher: Lexington Books
Imprint: Lexington Books
Dimensions:
Width: 19.00cm
, Height: 2.80cm
, Length: 26.50cm
Weight: 0.939kg
ISBN: 9780739186701
ISBN 10: 0739186701
Pages: 420
Publication Date: 17 February 2015
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Manufactured on demand
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.
Reviews
In this ambitious work, Stuart Hayashi clearly, systematically, and accessibly articulates the secular, philosophical, and moral foundations of a free society based on the supremacy of individual rights in which each person has the opportunity to pursue his flourishing and happiness. The author explains these foundations in language that will be understandable to educated laypersons, college students, and concerned citizens who follow current political issues covered by the media. While discussing the compatibility of human nature and individual rights, he makes a compelling and unprecedented argument that particular theories from the field of evolutionary psychology are congruent with Objectivism's views on human nature, individual rights, morality, social relationships, and the nature and rules of a proper government (i.e., a limited night watchman state). Hayashi's book is a masterful feat of intellectual integration from various disciplines that builds on the work of Ayn Rand and other intellectual giants, past and present. -- Edward W. Younkins, Wheeling Jesuit University Once again, Stuart Hayashi has composed a tome of epic scholarly proportions. Anyone interested in studying the fundamental dissimilarity of laissez-faire policies and Social Darwinist principles must read this book. -- Andrew Bernstein, Author, The Capitalist Manifesto: The Historic, Economic and Philosophic Case for Laissez-Faire
In this ambitious work, Stuart Hayashi clearly, systematically, and accessibly articulates the secular, philosophical, and moral foundations of a free society based on the supremacy of individual rights in which each person has the opportunity to pursue his flourishing and happiness. The author explains these foundations in language that will be understandable to educated laypersons, college students, and concerned citizens who follow current political issues covered by the media. While discussing the compatibility of human nature and individual rights, he makes a compelling and unprecedented argument that particular theories from the field of evolutionary psychology are congruent with Objectivism's views on human nature, individual rights, morality, social relationships, and the nature and rules of a proper government (i.e., a limited night watchman state). Hayashi's book is a masterful feat of intellectual integration from various disciplines that builds on the work of Ayn Rand and other intellectual giants, past and present. -- Edward W. Younkins, Wheeling Jesuit University
Author Information
Stuart K. Hayashi worked as an analyst and aide at the Hawaii State Capitol in both legislative houses.
