Thomas Hill Green and the Development of Liberal-Democratic Thought

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 developed 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 contract 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 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.