Defining the Common Good: Empire, Religion and Philosophy in Eighteenth-Century Britain: 29 (Ideas in Context, Series Number 29) - Softcover

Miller

Softcover

ISBN 10: 052161712X ISBN 13: 9780521617123

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2008

Synopsis

The theme of this book is the crisis of the early modern state in eighteenth-century Britain. The revolt of the North American colonies and the simultaneous demand for wider religious toleration at home challenged the principles of sovereignty and obligation that underpinned arguments about the character of the state. These were expressed in terms of the 'common good', 'necessity', and 'community' - concepts that came to the fore in early modern European political thought and which gave expression to the problem of defining legitimate authority in a period of increasing consciousness of state power. The Americans and their British supporters argued that individuals ought to determine the common good of the community. A new theory of representation and freedom of thought defines the cutting edge of this revolutionary redefinition of the basic relationship between individual and community.

About this title

Review:

' ... Miller triumphantly succeeds in a work of sustained sophistication and remarkably wide learning ... a powerful and remarkable vision which demands attention.' Jonathan Clark, The Times Literary Supplement

Book Description:

This book discusses the crisis of the early modern state in eighteenth-century Britain sparked off by the American revolution. It sets the crisis in its European context and traces the evolution of influential political ideas which continue to resonate today in the principles of 'one man, one vote' and 'freedom of thought'.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 052161712X
• ISBN 13: 9780521617123
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 488