Contains some of the most influential criticisms of socialism ever written.Presenting Spencer's classic attempt to expose the flaws in socialism and to assert political individualism as the best way to guarantee social progress, this book will be of interest to undergraduates and specialists in politics, political theory, social policy, sociology and history.Presenting Spencer's classic attempt to expose the flaws in socialism and to assert political individualism as the best way to guarantee social progress, this book will be of interest to undergraduates and specialists in politics, political theory, social policy, sociology and history.This book presents Spencer's classic attempt to expose the flaws in socialism and to assert political individualism as the best way to guarantee social progress. It will be of interest to both undergraduates and specialists in politics, political theory, social policy, sociology and history.Introduction; Principal events in Spencer's life; Bibliographical note; Editor's note; The Proper Sphere of Government; The Man versus the State; Appendix: Spencer's article of 1836 on the Poor Law; Index.