Pluralism and the personality of the state

300 Pages·2005·13.8 MB·English

by  David Runciman

Pluralism and the personality of the state discusses the relations
between individuals, groups and the state. Set against the broad
context of philosophical arguments about group and state
personality, Dr Runciman's book tells, for the first time, the full
history of the movement in early twentieth-century English
political thought known as political pluralism. The pluralists
believed that the state was simply one group among many, and
could not therefore be sovereign. They also believed that
groups, like individuals, might have personalities of their own.
The book is divided into three parts: the first examines the
philosophical background to these ideas and refers in particular
to the work of Thomas Hobbes and the German Otto von
Gierke. The second traces the development of pluralist thought
before, during and after the First World War. In the third and
final part, Runciman's study returns to Hobbes and looks in
particular at his Leviathan, in order to see what conclusions can
be drawn about the nature of this work and the nature of the
state as it exists today.
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IDEAS IN CONTEXT 47
PLURALISM AND
THE PERSONALITY OF
THE STATE
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IDEAS IN CONTEXT
Edited by QjiENTIN SKINNER (General Editor)
L O R R A I N E D A S T O N , W O L F L E P E N I E S ,
J. B. S C H N E E W I N D and J A M E s T U L L Y
The books in this series will discuss the emergence of intellectual traditions
and of related new disciplines. The procedures, aims and vocabularies that
were generated will be set in the context of the alternatives available within
the contemporary frameworks of ideas and institutions. Through detailed
studies of the evolution of such traditions, and their modification by
different audiences, it is hoped that a new picture will form of the
development of ideas in their concrete contexts. By this means, artificial
distinctions between the history of philosophy, of the various sciences, of
society and politics, and of literature may be seen to dissolve.
The series is published with the support of the Exxon Foundation.
A list of books in the series will be found at the end of the volume.
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PLURALISM AND
THE PERSONALITY OF
THE STATE
DAVID RUNCIMAN
Trinity College, Cambridge
| CAMBRIDGE
UNIVERSITY PRESS
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PUBLISHED BY THE PRESS SYNDICATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 IRP, United Kingdom
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge, CB2 2RU, United Kingdom
40 West 20th Street, New York, NY I0011-4211, USA
10 Stamford Road, Oakleigh, Melbourne 3166, Australia
© Cambridge University Press 1997
This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant
collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written
permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published 1997
Typeset in 11/12^ Baskerville
A catalogue recordf ort his book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data
Runciman, David.
Pluralism and the personality of the state/David Runciman.
p. cm. - (Ideas in context: 47)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN o 521 55191 9
1. Pluralism (Social sciences).
2. State, The. 3. Political science - History.
1. Title. 11. Series.
JC328.2.R86 1997
32O.i-dc2i 96-46263 CIP
ISBN o 521 55191 9 hardback
Transferred to digital printing 2003
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To my parents
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Doug. Another king! They grow like Hydra's heads;
I am the Douglas, fatal to all those
That wear those colours on them. What art thou
That counterfeit'st the person of a king?
King. The King himself
Shakespeare, Henry IVpart I
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Contents
Preface page xi
PART i: THE PERSONALITY OF ASSOCIATIONS
1 Introduction 3
2 Hobes and the person of the commonwealth 6
3 Gierke and the Genosenschaft 34
4 Trusts and sovereigns 64
PART HI POLITICAL PLURALISM
5 Maitland and the real personality of associations 89
6 Figgis and the communitas communitatum 124
7 Barker and the discredited state 150
8 Cole and guild socialism 162
9 Laski and political pluralism 177
10 The return of the state 195
PART i n : T H E P E R S O N A L I T Y OF T H E STATE
1 The mask of personality 223
12 The mask of the group 230
13 The mask of the state 251
14 Conclusion 262
Bibliography 266
Index 275
ix
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