This project is now complete. All audio files can be found on our catalog page here:
https://librivox.org/social-statics-by-herbert-spencer/
Social Statics, or The Conditions essential to Happiness specified, and the First of them Developed is an 1851 book by the British polymath Herbert Spencer. In it, he uses the term "fitness" in applying his ideas of Lamarckian evolution to society, saying for example that "It is clear that any being whose constitution is to be moulded into fitness for new conditions of existence must be placed under those conditions. Or, putting the proposition specifically — it is clear that man can become adapted to the social state, only by being retained in the social state. This granted, it follows that as man has been, and is still, deficient in those feelings which, by dictating just conduct, prevent the perpetual antagonism of individuals and their consequent disunion, some artificial agency is required by which their union may be maintained. Only by the process of adaptation itself can be produced that character which makes social equilibrium spontaneous."
Despite its commonly being attributed to this book, it was not until his Principles of Biology of 1864 that Spencer coined the phrase "survival of the fittest", which he would later apply to economics and biology. This was a key tenet of so-called Social Darwinism.
Economist Murray Rothbard called Social Statics "the greatest single work of libertarian political philosophy ever written. (Wikipedia)
- How to claim a part, and "how it all works" here To find a section to record, simply look at point 5. below at the sections. All the ones without names beside them are "up for grabs." Click "Post reply" at the top left of the screen and tell us which section you would like to read (include the section number from the left-most column in the reader list, please). Read points 6. to 8. below for what to do before, during and after your recording.
- New to recording? Please read our Newbie Guide to Recording!
- Is there a deadline? We ask that you submit your recorded sections within 1-2 months of placing your claim. Please note that to be fair to the readers who have completed their sections in a timely way, if you haven't submitted your recording(s) after two months, your sections will automatically be re-opened for other readers to claim, unless you post in this thread to request an extension. Extensions will be granted at the discretion of the Book Coordinator. If you cannot do your section, for whatever reason, just let me know and it'll go back to the pool. There's no shame in this; we're all volunteers and things happen.Please do not sign up for more sections than you can complete within the two month deadline.
- Where do I find the text? Source text (please only read from this text!): http://archive.org/details/socialstaticsor08spengoog Please do not read referenced page numbers. If you want, you may substitute page numbers for the correlating chapter number. Alternatively, you may skip them altogether.
- Please claim sections (the numbers in the first column below)! If this is your first recording, please let me know under which name or pseudonym you'd like to appear in the LibriVox catalogue. We can also link to a personal website/blog.
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+For chapters divided into sections, please verify the assigned sections begin/end as indicated.
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Magic Window:
BC Admin
Genres for the project: *Non-fiction/Business & Economics
Keywords that describe the book: political philosophy, society, survival of the fittest, social equilibrium
============================================ - BEFORE recording: Please check the Recording Notes: http://librivox.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6427#6430
Set your recording software to:
Channels: 1 (Mono)
Bit Rate: 128 kbps
Sample Rate: 44.1 kHz - DURING recording:
No more than 0.5 to 1 second of silence at the beginning of the recording!
Make sure you add this to the beginning of your recording:
START of recording (Intro)- "Chapter [number] (and if applicable, part [number]) of Social Statics by Herbert Spencer. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
- If you wish, say: "Recording by [your name], [city, your blog, podcast, web address]"
- Say:
"Social Statics: or, The Conditions Essential to Human Happiness Specified, and the First of them Developed, by Herbert Spencer. [Chapter]"
END of recording- At the end of the section, say:
"End of Chapter [number] (and if applicable, part [number])" - If you wish, say:
"Recording by [your name], [city, your blog, podcast, web address]" - At the end of the book, say (in addition):
"End of Social Statics or, The Conditions Essential to Human Happiness Specified, and the First of them Developed by Herbert Spencer."
There should be 5 seconds silence at the end of the recording. Please note that for sections longer than 30 minutes the ending silence should still be 5 seconds.
Please do not read referenced page numbers. If you want, you may substitute page numbers for the correlating chapter number. Alternatively, you may skip them altogether.
Please remember to check this thread frequently for updates! - AFTER recording
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128 kbps MP3
socialstatics_##_spencer_128kb (all lower-case) where ## is the section number (e.g. socialstatics_01_spencer_128kb - Example ID3 V2 tags
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