I have three kids and Dr Spocks book and I loved it!!! I saw nothing of permisiveness in it. In fact the book I had seldom talks about those issues. It was more a practical general guide. The reason I liked him is because he puts alot of emphasis on trusting your gut as a mother. Perhaps he is kind of a pioneer of attachment parenting but before there was no phrase to describe that type of parenting. I think his advice is common sense in most cases. As far as discipline goes, it's important to set limits. I also believe in structure and schedule. many issues can be prevented.
I slept with my babies until they were about one and I weaned them at about 1 and a half. Dr Spock said if you pick up a child when he needs you (crying) as he gets older he won't want to be held all the time. This is so true..As soon as my babies learned to walk they were quite independent. Why??? Because when they needed me I was there and they knew that. They were SECURE. That's what so many moms do not realize. If you aren't there when they need you, those children will not be secure. My kids went to school happy because they were secure. They didn't cry to stay with me. They knew without a doubt I would come back to pick them up or if they needed me.
As far as discipline goes I have found in my own experience it's much more productive with a smaller child to say NO and physically carry them away from what they are doing wrong. If they go back and do it, be consistent and continue to take them away. This works much better than spanking and doesn't leave you the GUILT of having hit your child.