"The grand, leading principle, towards which every argument . . .
unfolded in these pages directly converges, is the absolute and
essential importance of human development in its richest
diversity."This description by Wilhelm von Humboldt of his purpose
in writing "The Limits of State Action" animates John Stuart Mill's
"On Liberty" and serves as its famous epigraph. Seldom has a book
spoken so dramatically to another writer. Many commentators even
believe that Humboldt's discussion of issues of freedom and
individual responsibility possesses greater clarity and directness
than Mill's.
"The Limits of State Action, " by "Germany's greatest
philosopher of freedom," as F. A. Hayek called him, has an
exuberance and attention to principle that make it a valuable
introduction to classical liberal political thought. It is also
crucial for an understanding of liberalism as it developed in
Europe at the turn of the nineteenth century. Humboldt explores the
role that liberty plays in individual development, discusses
criteria for permitting the state to limit individual actions, and
suggests ways of confining the state to its proper bounds. In so
doing, he uniquely combines the ancient concern for human
excellence and the modern concern for what has come to be known as
negative liberty.J. W. Burrow is Professor of History at the
University of Sussex.
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