Politics, peoples, and government : themes in British political thought since the nineteenth century

This book describes and analyses the principle themes in the ideas of conservatives, socialists, liberals, and feminists in Britain from the beginning of the nineteenth century up to the present day. It examines the contribution of these various traditions to recent debates about citizenship, sovereignty, and the character of national communities. Consumers and citizens, market and state, gender inequality and family values, national sovereignty and international cooperation. Contemporary political debate is full of ideas and principles which are at one and the same time both novel and traditional. Britain has always had a rich tradition of political argument, but this argument has increasingly been part of a wider, international debate as the politics of this country become more and more embroiled in the politics of the world. How have the main lines of debate changed in the twentieth century? Does socialism - or conservatism - retain any of its old meaning? What kind of challenge does feminism pose to more 'conventional' political ideas? How can liberals appear amongst the fiercest supporters and the most vehement opponents of the 'New Right' . Rodney Barker surveys recent political debates in the light of the traditions which have contributed to them: conservatism, liberalism, socialism and feminism. At the same time he presents an overview of the principal themes in political thinking since the beginning of the nineteenth century, and discusses how they have contributed and adapted to the changing concerns of politics in a democracy. Placing political ideas in their historical context, he shows how by the end of the twentieth century a fundamental realignment had taken place as conservatism became increasingly radical, liberalism fragmented, socialism rediscovered its scepticism towards the state, and feminism both subverted old orthodoxies and made more innovations to the ways in which we think about government and politics. Front Matter....Pages i-vii Political Thought in Britain....Pages 1-19 Conservatism....Pages 20-42 Liberalism....Pages 43-65 Socialism....Pages 66-84 Feminism....Pages 85-99 Markets and Property: the Allocation of Goods and Services....Pages 100-115 Citizens, Sovereignty, the People and the Nation....Pages 116-137 Conclusion....Pages 138-139 Back Matter....Pages 140-157 Describes and discusses the principal themes in the ideas of conservatives, socialists, liberals and feminists in Britain, from the beginning of the 19th century to the present day. Rodney Barker is the author of "Education and Politics, 1900-1951" and "A Study of the Labour Party".