The Great Political Superstition

E188031

"The Great Political Superstition" is an essay by Herbert Spencer that critiques blind faith in governmental authority and challenges the belief that the state is inherently a force for good.

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The Great Political Superstition canonical 2

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Statements (45)

Predicate Object
instanceOf essay
political essay
advocatesFor individual rights
skepticism toward state power
author Herbert Spencer
countryOfOrigin United Kingdom
criticizes political superstition
state intervention in society
unquestioned political obedience
critiques belief that the state is inherently a force for good
blind faith in governmental authority
field political philosophy
social philosophy
genre libertarian political theory
hasPerspective anti-statism
minimal state
hasReception cited in critiques of statism
influential in libertarian circles
hasTheme critique of political legitimacy
danger of centralized power
limits of political authority
moral responsibility of individuals
influencedBy classical liberal thought
individualist philosophy
language English
mainTopic critique of governmental authority
individual liberty
limited government
political philosophy
role of the state
philosophicalSubject authority
coercion
freedom
state power
philosophicalTradition classical liberalism
libertarianism
positionOnCitizens citizens should question political authority
positionOnGovernment government authority must be morally justified
positionOnLaw laws are not automatically just because they are enacted by the state
positionOnState the state is not inherently benevolent
relatedTo Social Statics
The Man Versus the State
timePeriod 19th century political thought
workContainedIn collections of Herbert Spencer’s essays
workOf Herbert Spencer

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Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

The Man Versus the State hasPart The Great Political Superstition
The New Toryism relatedWork The Great Political Superstition