All this implies that … the so-called classical liberals, who nowadays call themselves neo-liberals or libertarians, claim Mill’s ideas and contend they follow in his footsteps. The Dutch historian Cor Hermans modifies this image thoroughly in his highly readable book Een Engelsman in Frankrijk …. In it he doesn’t deny that the famous philosopher played an important role in the history of European liberalism, but he demonstrates … that [Mill] was also influenced, and substantially so, by the Romantic Movement, socialism, and positivism.

Hermans gives us an elaborate and very thorough overview of the ideas of these ‘social Darwinists’, who succeeded in misapproprating the theory of evolution for their personal political interests…. [His] most readable study offers a fascinating sampling of these thinkers and men of action from the late nineteenth century, all under the spell of expected downfall.