Aspects of liberalism in the theory of Bernard Bosanquet

Abstract

Bosanquet's deep concern for the protection and promotion of individual liberty is a matter of primary importance which has not yet received any serious attention. The present work analyses this concern and attempts to show the general continuity of Bosanquet's thought with the English liberal tradition. The subject deserves attention for two reasons. First, it is an important aspect in the work of a very important theorist. As Oakeshott 1 has pointed out, The Philosophical Theory of the State, is the only English work of "first class importance" in the field of general political philosophy during the fifty years between 1899 and 1949. Secondly, it helps to correct many of the erroneous judgments that have been made about Bosanquet's view of the relation between the State and the individual.