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What did Herbert Spencer compare to the nervous system in a human society?
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Herbert Spencer
Herbert Spencer.
In his sociological theories, the British philosopher Herbert Spencer drew detailed comparisons between biological organisms and human societies. Within this framework, he identified government as the functional equivalent of the central nervous system in a human society.1
Spencer viewed this as part of a broader "regulative system" that allowed societies to function similarly to animal organisms, alongside a sustaining system (industry) and a distribution system (such as roads and telegraphs).1