Abstract

The purpose of this book is to describe and evaluate the work of the Idealists in the period 1880–1914. Of course, the prince of these Idealists was T. H. Green, but it is made clear that he had many colleagues. For the Idealists the state was not merely an instrument, it was also an end. It provided a focus for a sense of community. The religious doctrines and metaphysical theories of the Idealists led them to emphasize the state.