Thomas Hill Green and the Development of Liberal-Democratic Thought

167 Pages·1981·23.731 MB·English

by  I.M. Greengarten

I.M.GREENGARTEN
Thomas Hill Green &
the Development of
Liberal-Democratic
Thought

I.M. GREENGARTEN received his PhD from the University of Toronto and works
as an administrator in geriatric care in Toronto.
Thomas Hill Green (1836-1882) was a leading British philosopher and political
figure and founder of the school of British Idealism, which displaced the philosophy
of Bentham and John Stuart Mill as the dominant tradition in British universities
from 1880 into the twentieth century.
Greengarten presents a detailed analysis of Green’s thought, including his theories
of political obligation, property, self-realization, and human nature, and develops
the necessary tools for an analysis of Green’s work and the tradition of liberal-
democratic thought.
He finds in Green a view of human nature and human potentialities which is in
striking contrast to the views of earlier liberal thinkers, and remarkably similar to
that of Marx - despite Green’s clear and often passionate defence of capitalism and
market freedom. His concept of human nature is of a divided, self-contradictory
nature; his theory of the true good is of a good that is to be shared, a common good
that is not attainable through the selfish pursuit of private goods; his vision of the
good society foresees the elimination of class-based conflict and inequality.
Greengarten examines Green’s proposals for legislative reform and the goals to
which they would lead - the elimination of poverty, and the establishment of a
classless society wherein all members would have equal opportunity to develop and
realize their potential.
This book offers a fresh perspective on Green and raises issues of importance in
the field of social and political theory.

I.M. GREENGARTEN
Thomas Hill Green and
the Development of
Liberal-Democratic Thought
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS
Toronto Buffalo London
© University of Toronto Press 1981
Toronto Buffalo London
Printed in Canada
ISBN 0-8020-5503-6
Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data
Greengarten, I.M., 1949-
Thomas Hill Green and the development of
liberal-democratic thought
Includes index.
ISBN 0-8020-5503-6
1. Green, Thomas Hill, 1836-1882 - Political Science.
I. Title.
B1637.G74 192 C80-094653-7
This book has been published with the help of grants from the Social Science Federation ol>
Canada, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of
Canada, and from the Publications Fund of University of Toronto Press.
To Ena
Contents
PREFACE ix
ABBREVIATIONS xi
I
Introduction: an unsettled and unsettling age 3
2
Philosophical foundations 12
3
The true good or the theory of self-realization 32
4
The state: political obligation and resistance 50
5
Property and social classes 71
6
The theory of human nature 90
7
The critique of utilitarianism 110
8
Conclusion 124
APPENDIX: Notes towards a comparison of Green and J.S. Mill 131
INDEX 143

Preface
This book began as a study of both Thomas Hill Green and John Stuart Mill: Green
because the major assumptions and inconsistencies of liberal-democratic thought are
clearer in his work than in that of any other early writer of this tradition; Mill
because he is unquestionably the most important and best known of the liberal-
democratic thinkers. Limitations of time and the pressures of other responsibilities
prevented me from finishing my task.
The study of Green is complete. Whatever the strengths and weaknesses of
Green’s work - and there are a good number of entries on both sides of the
ledger - I hope these are elucidated here. However, as a teacher who captivated his
large student audiences, as a scholar who changed the course of philosophical
thought in British universities for decades, and as a politician/theoretician who
influenced the policies of British governments, Green has received far too little
attention from political theorists of all persuasions. I believe this study goes some
way towards correcting that imbalance.
The examination of Mill is only at its beginning; I look forward to a time when it
too might be completed. To begin with Green, however, was essential. The signifi­
cant elements of the liberal-democratic world-view are unmistakably present in
Mill’s thought, but they are not easily uncovered. They are obscured largely by the
baggage of utilitarianism he felt compelled to carry. In attempting to straddle the two
traditions - the liberal and the liberal-democratic - Mill did full justice to neither.
Green, who was under no such philosophical restriction, was able to embrace with
far less reservation the ideas of the new age. To Green’s aforementioned accom­
plishments should be added, in my view, the fact that he is the key to unlocking the
complexities of Mill’s thought.
The appendix comparing Mill and Green is based on the rather extensive
research I have compiled towards the final study. I have chosen to include this
chapter because I feel it underscores a point I very much want to make. The con-