Bio: (1858-1916) British sociologist. Benjamin Kidd did not have a formal university education, nor did he have a permanent position as a professor at any faculty. The book Social Evolution (1894) made him very famous immediately after its publication. In this book, he states that the coercion of the group is the basic source of social progress, that is, evolution; while, on the other hand, the freedom of the individual has always endangered the survival of society. The individual is guided by his reason, which comes into conflict with the socializing forces of social organizations. It follows that the survival of society depends on supranational factors, the most important of which is religion. Religion serves the interests of the social organism, because it encourages the birth rate and readiness of the individual, through social sanctions, to submit to the social organization.

Kidd takes over Spencer's distinction between militaristic and industrial-type societies. The Greeks and Romans had a militaristic type of society, dominated by aristocratic organization and slavery, which stifled social selection and led to decay. Christianity has led to a resurgence of social progress. It introduced an "ultra-rational" sanction for unsocial behavior, while, on the other hand, it created an altruistic ethic. This led to the emancipation of the masses and the selective struggle between individuals within a society. Protestantism was an economic revolt of the rising middle class, but it also led to expansive altruism that gave political, economic, and social rights to the masses. Kidd's approach to evolution, which emphasizes the balance between the struggle for survival and altruism, is also visible in his attitude towards the economy - capitalism should survive, but the state should manage the economy to ensure real and fair competition in the market.

In the book Control of the Tropics (1898), Kidd states that Western civilization must extend altruism to tropical landscapes through the political control of the nations that are located there. This book is a defense of British imperialism. The author defends imperialism by claiming that it enables a better future for Western civilization but also improves the entire human progress. In The Science of Power (1918), Kidd argues that men are approaching politics based on the rationalist science of power, while women advocate emotional idealism that allows individuals to sacrifice their current interests for the future benefit of the entire group and race.

Main works

Social Evolution (1894);

Control of the Tropics (1898);

Principles of Western Civilisation (1902);

Individualism and After: The Herbert Spencer Lecture (1908); 

Two Principal Laws of Sociology (1909);

The Science of Power (1918);

A Philosopher with Nature (1921).