Abstract
PROF. LORD modestly describes his book as a bridge for students from Sir Frederick Pollock's “History of the Science of Politics” to Dr. Bosanquet's “Philosophical Theory of the State.” In this task he has succeeded well. His style is eminently readable, his arguments are clear, and his information is accurate. His analyses of political theories are supported by apt quotations, in the selection of which—e.g. from Spinoza's political writings and from the Federalist—he has departed, with excellent effect, from the traditional text-book grooves. The introductory chapter gives a good account of the influence of the Renaissance and the Reformation on political theory. There follows a chapter on the social contract, three chapters on different theories of sovereignty, one on democracy and representation, one on the notion of law, three on the theory of rights, and lastly a conclusion in which Prof. Lord sums up his own positive point of view, which is that of the classical idealist theory of the State, as developed, under the influence of Kant and Hegel, by T. H. Green and Bosanquet. It is a little to be regretted that Prof. Lord's scheme did not permit him to touch on the recent criticisms of this theory by writers like Graham Wallas, G. D. H. Cole, H. J. Laski, R. H. Tawney, and many others. He keeps strictly to historical materials. Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Spinoza are the prominent figures, with Machiavelli, Bentham, and Burke in the second rank. No nineteenth-century theorists find mention except Mill and Spencer, and these only in the discussion of individualism. However, within these self-imposed limits Prof. Lord has written a book which teachers and students of political theory alike will find useful.
The Principles of Politics: An Introduction to the Study of the Evolution of Political Ideas.
By Prof. A. R. Lord. Pp. 308. (Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, 1921.) 8s. 6d. net.
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H., R. The Principles of Politics: An Introduction to the Study of the Evolution of Political Ideas . Nature 107, 264 (1921). https://doi.org/10.1038/107264a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/107264a0