This paper takes stock of the welfare-related views of the great 19th century philosopher and sociologist Herbert Spencer. Following the British sociologist John Offer, who has been at the forefront of research on Spencer's oeuvre, the main elements of Spencer's welfare pluralism, embedded in his organic social theory, are presented. An attempt is made to show that social conceptions based on different epistemologies are not logically compatible, with exclusionary consequences. This is why Spencer's ideas on welfare have long been parked in sociological and socio-political thought. And the reason for its perceptible revival is the epistemological change in thinking about society. The consequences of this can be felt in several ways. On the one hand, in the emergence of informal care theory and practice, and in the research potential of social policy, and on the other hand, in the philosophical background behind the amendment of the Hungarian Social Law of 2022.