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An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice
Contributor(s): Godwin, William (Author), Philp, Mark (Editor)
ISBN: 0199642621     ISBN-13: 9780199642625
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
OUR PRICE:   $15.26  
Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats
Published: December 2013
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Temporarily out of stock - Will ship within 2 to 5 weeks
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- Fiction | Classics
Series: Oxford World's Classics (Paperback)
Physical Information: 1" H x 5" W x 7.6" (0.80 lbs) 560 pages
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:
'To a rational being there can be but one rule of conduct, justice, and one mode of ascertaining that rule, the exercise of his understanding.'

Godwin's Political Justice is the founding text of philosophical anarchism. Written in the immediate aftermath of the French Revolution, it exemplifies the political optimism felt by many writers and intellectuals. Godwin drew on enlightenment ideas and his background in religious dissent for the
principles of justice, utility, and the sanctity of individual judgement that drove his powerful critique of all forms of secular and religious authority. He predicts the triumph of justice and equality over injustice, and of mind over matter, and the eventual vanquishing of human frailty and
mortality. He also foresees the gradual elimination of practices governing property, punishment, law, and marriage and the displacement of politics by an expanded personal morality resulting from reasoned argument and candid discussion. Political Justice raises deep philosophical questions about
the nature of our duty to others that remain central to modern debates on ethics and politics.

This edition reprints the first-edition text of 1793, and examines Godwin's evolving philosophy in the context of his life and work.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert
introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.