Najwcześniejsze poglądy społeczno-polityczne Herberta Spencera; doktrynalna analiza rozprawy: „The proper sphere of government”
The earliest socio-political Herbert Spenser’s views – doctrinal analysis of thesis “The proper sphere of government”

Summary/Abstract: Herbert Spencer is considered as the last representant of classic XIXth Century liberalism. He is also one of the earliest liberal conservatives. Additionally he is rightly considered as the founding father of libertarian doctrine, as his socio-political doctrine was famous for its idea of necessary inhibition of state power up to a very narrow sphere. This strong statement was conditioned by evolutionalism, therefore amongst the classic thinkers commonly classified as belonging to the liberal doctrine Spencer is considered mainly as an evolutionist. Without a doubt evolutionist argumentation constitutes an alternative to the theory of natural rights and the social contract, upon which mainly the liberal thought is founded (beginning from the Locke doctrine and ending at Nozick’s concepctions). However such a confrotation of Spencer’s political though against the main liberal thought, which may be encountered in most publications concerning Spencer, is not right. This conception arises out of the fact that researchers analysing Spencer’s theses’ commonly ignored his first complex thesis pertaining to socio-political though, which is “The proper sphere of government”. This work has been published in 1942 as a cycle of twelve letters published in the “Nonconformist” periodcal. A year later, in august 1843, the whole cycle was published as a pamphlet under the name that it is known by now. The argumentation presented in this work is not based upon evolutionism, which became the hallmark of Spencer’s doctrine in the later stage of his socio-political work, but on the theory of natural right that constitute the basis of methodological individualism of both the individual and the society.

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