Pluralism and the Personality of the State (Ideas in Context 47)

Pluralism and the Personality of the State tells the history of English political thought from 1900 to 1933, concentrating on the work of the political pluralists and their attack on the idea of state sovereignty. It explores the background to their work in the ideas of the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes and the German jurist Otto von Gierke. It also looks at what wider relevance their ideas might have today, particularly with regard to the question of the relation between the state and voluntary associations. Set against the broad context of philosophical arguments about group and state personality, Pluralism and the Personality of the State tells, for the first time, the history of political pluralism. The pluralists believed that the state was simply one group among many, and could not therefore be sovereign. They also believed that groups, like individuals, might have personalities of their own. The book examines the philosophical background to political pluralist ideas with particular reference to the work of Thomas Hobbes and the German Otto von Gierke. It also traces the development of pluralist thought before, during and after the First World War. Part Three returns to Hobbes in order to see what conclusions can be drawn about the nature of his Leviathan and the nature of the state as it exists today. IIIIV 10 The return of the state I II III IV PART III: THE PERSONALITY OF THE STATE 11 The mask of personality 12 The mask of the group I II III IV 13 The mask of the state I II 14 Conclusion Bibliography Index.

Pluralism and the Personality of the State tells the history of English political thought from 1900-1933.