This volume contains a selection of writings from the seminal figures in British political theory from Bernard Bosanquet to Anne Phillips and Bhikhu Parekh, which trace the transformation of political theory and its relation to trends in British politics and the state.

Introduction. 1. British Political Theory in the Twentieth Century (Paul Kelly, LSE). 2. The End and Limits of State Action (Bernard Bosanquet, Deceased). 3. The State and the Individual (L.T. Hobhouse, Deceased). 4. The Great Leviathan (J.N. Figgis, Deceased). 5. Nationality (Ernest Barker, Deceased). 6. The Pluralistic State (Harold Laski, Deceased). 7. A Guild in Being (G.D.H. Cole, Deceased). 8. Liberty and Equality (R.H. Tawney, Deceased). 9. The Political Economy of Freedom (Michael Oakeshott, Deceased). 10. Are There Any Natural Rights? (H.L.A Hart, Deceased). 11. The Public Interest (Brian Barry, Deceased). 12. What’s Wrong with Prostitution? (Carole Pateman, UCLA). 13. Dealing with Difference (Anne Phillips, LSE). 14. In Defence of Nationality (David Miller, Oxford University). 15. From Statism to Pluralism (Paul Hirst, Deceased). 16. The Logic of Intercultural Evaluation (Bhikhu Parekh, University of Westminster). Index.

The British study of politics has perhaps exerted no greater influence than through the field of political theory. This volume offers a selection of writings from some of the greatest names in British political theory in the twentieth century. The chosen essays illustrate the variety and development of British Political Theory as it follows developments in British politics, from British Idealism to contemporary multiculturalism and pluralism. Kelly begins with an interpretive essay that examines the ways in which political theory has been practiced and explores the reasons for its transformation. The main body of the book comprises essays and selections from some of the greatest names in British political thought and political science, including Bosanquet, Hobhouse, Laski, Cole, Oakeshott, Berlin, Hart and Barry to Carole Pateman, Anne Phillips and David Miller, amongst contemporaries. The editor provides an introductory essay which locates the work of each great thinker in the unfolding of the practice of political theory in British universities in the twentieth century. The editor’s selection and the interpretive essay demonstrate how the development of political theory follows the rise, transformation and challenge to the notion of the British state in the twentieth century.