"What Social Classes Owe to Each Other" from William Graham Sumner. American academic at the Yale University (1840-1910).

"What Social Classes Owe to Each Other," written by William Graham Sumner, is a classic gem promoting the concept of limited government. Sumner talks about the "Forgotten Man" in context to the socio-political and economic of a state, defining the differences between the "weak," the "poor" and the "burden" and how humanitarians, reformers and philanthropists all seek to support the above. "What Social Classes Owe Each Other" promotes the principles of democracy and voluntary charity. With solid reasoning and logical explanation, Sumner profoundly defeats the Marxist idea of forced redistribution of wealth. Sumner's rhetoric is fertile ground for effective debate, as it rarely uses economic theory or supply/demand curves (which weren't around when he wrote). Every politician should be required to read this book before taking office. Indeed, the philosophy of Sumner, who was a professor at Yale, has surfaced in the rhetoric of many a politician. Sumner's caustic pen and penetrating analysis make "What Social Classes Owe to Each Other" a truly excellent book. No other work so clearly destroys the foundations of socialism in so few pages.

This is the first fully annotated edition of Social Problems (1883) and The Condition of Labor (1891), two important works by one of America’s most popular social economists. Social Problems grew out of a series of articles Henry George (1839-1897) published in Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper titled, “Problems of Our Times.” In his passionate, journalistic style, George described in graphic detail the horrific conditions facing large sections of the American people and how, by returning to first principles, society could remedy these conditions for current and future generations. The Condition of Labor takes the form of an open letter to Pope Leo XIII in response to the pontiff’s famous encyclical, Rerum Novarum. Echoing the religious themes dominant throughout all of his works, George argued that poverty is not part of God’s natural order and therefore, could be eradicated through political action. Both Social Problems and The Condition of Labor demonstrate George’s deep commitment to the reconciliation of ethics and economics in such a way that makes the world richer ethically and better off economically.

Social Darwinism in American Thought portrays the overall influence of Darwin on American social theory and the notable battle waged among thinkers over the implications of evolutionary theory for social thought and political action. Theorists such as Herbert Spencer and William Graham Sumner adopted the idea of the struggle for existence as justification for the evils as well as the benefits of laissez-faire modern industrial society. Others such as William James and John Dewey argued that human planning was needed to direct social development and improve upon the natural order. Hofstadter's classic study of the ramifications of Darwinism is a major analysis of the social philosophies that animated intellectual movements of the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era.

Although Lester Frank Ward's accomplishments are not as well known today, he is considered the father of American Sociology and his work profoundly influenced such important thinkers as Thorstein Veblen, John Dewey, Edward Ross, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman. In Apostle of Human Progress, Edward C. Rafferty presents the first full scale intellectual portrait of this important public thinker. Rafferty shows how Ward's thought laid the foundations for the modern administrative state and explores his contributions to twentieth century American liberalism. Ideal for anyone interested in the history of American intellectuals and ideas.