Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
by James Stephen
Presents James Fitzjames Stephen's position on such contemporary questions as - property rights versus government redistribution of wealth, equality under the law versus social egalitarianism, individual liberty versus majoritarian democracy and the enforcement of morality by state action.
Paperback
English
Brand New
Publisher Description
Students of political theory will welcome the return to print of this brilliant defence of ordered liberty. Impugning John Stuart Mill's famous treatise, On Liberty, Stephen criticised Mill for turning abstract doctrines of the French Revolution into "the creed of a religion". Only the constraints of morality and law make liberty possible, warned Stephen, and attempts to impose unlimited freedom, material equality, and an indiscriminate love of humanity will lead inevitably to coercion and tyranny. Liberty must be restrained by custom and tradition if it is to endure; equality must be limited to equality before the law if it is to be just; and fraternity must include actual men, not the amorphous mass of mankind, if it is to be real and genuine.
Author Biography
James Fitzjames Stephen
Table of Contents
The doctrine of liberty in general; on the liberty of thought and discussion; on the distinction between the temporal and spiritual power; the doctrine of liberty in its application to morals; equality; fraternity; note on utilitarianism.
Review
"Stephen's book still retains its power to challenge, and irritate, liberal and conservative alike, and it remains an indispensable text for anyone seriously concerned about the extent to which the law should attempt to enforce morality." --Stefan Collini, University of Cambridge
Long Description
Students of political theory will welcome the return to print of this brilliant defense of ordered liberty. Impugning John Stuart Mill's famous treatise, On Liberty, Stephen criticized Mill for turning abstract doctrines of the French Revolution into "the creed of a religion." Only the constraints of morality and law make liberty possible, warned Stephen, and attempts to impose unlimited freedom, material equality, and an indiscriminate love of humanity will lead inevitably to coercion and tyranny. Liberty must be restrained by custom and tradition if it is to endure; equality must be limited to equality before the law if it is to be just; and fraternity must include actual men, not the amorphous mass of mankind, if it is to be real and genuine.
Feature
Foreword, editor's note, selected bibliography, prefaces, comparative table of subjects, index.
Details
