Gregory Claeys explores the reception of the French Revolution in Britain through the medium of its leading interpreters. Claeys argues that the major figures - Thomas Paine, Edmund Burke, Mary Wollstonecraft, William Godwin and John Thelwall - collectively laid the foundations for political debate for the following century, and longer.

Aspirations for a better - even a perfect - society have existed throughout history, often imagined in intricate detail by philosophers, poets, social reformers, architects and artists. This book explores a perennially powerful idea: the quest for the ideal society. Gregory Claeys surveys the influence of the idea of Utopia on history. Central to his exploration of ideal worlds are creation myths; archetypes of heaven and the afterlife; new worlds and voyages of discovery; ages of revolution and technological progress; model communities and kibbutzim; political and ecological dystopias; space travel and science fiction. The most significant utopias throughout history - whether envisaged or attempted - are covered, including visions of the ideal society in the West as well as American, Asian, African and the Arab worlds. From classical times to the present day, this compelling book traces the enduring human need to imagine and construct ideal worlds.

This book investigates Thomas Paine's social and political thought in both its British and American moments. It examines the ways in which Paine's ideas were understood. The book restores him to the position his contemporaries accorded him, that of an important writer on politics and society.

This major work of academic reference provides the first comprehensive survey of political thought in Europe, North America and Asia in the century following the French Revolution. Written by a distinguished team of international scholars, this Cambridge History is the latest in a sequence of volumes firmly established as the principal reference source for the history of political thought. In a series of scholarly but accessible essays, every major theme in nineteenth-century political thought is covered, including political economy, religion, democratic radicalism, nationalism, socialism and feminism. The volume also includes studies of major figures, including Hegel, Mill, Bentham and Marx, and biographical notes on every significant thinker in the period. Of interest to students and scholars of politics and history at all levels, this volume explores seismic changes in the languages and expectations of politics accompanying political revolution, industrialisation and imperial expansion and less-noted continuities in political and social thinking.

Encyclopedia of Nineteenth Century Thought provides essential information on, and a critical interpretation of, nineteenth-century thought and nineteenth-century thinkers. The project takes as its temporal boundary the period 1789 to 1914. Encyclopedia of Nineteenth Century Thought primarily covers social and political thinking, but key entries also survey science, religion, law, art, concepts of modernity, the body and health, and so on, and thereby take into account all of the key developments in the intellectual history of the period. The encyclopedia is alphabetically organized, and consists of: * principal entries, divided into ideas (4000 words) and persons (2500 words) * subsidiary entries of 1000 words, which are entirely biographical * informational entries of 500 words, which are also biographical.

Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Thought provides essential information on, and a critical interpretation of, nineteenth-century thought and nineteenth-century thinkers. The project takes as its temporal boundary the period 1789 to 1914. Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Thought primarily covers social and political thinking, but key entries also survey science, religion, law, art, concepts of modernity, the body and health, and so on, and thereby take into account all of the key developments in the intellectual history of the period. The encyclopedia is alphabetically organized, and consists of: principal entries, divided into ideas (4000 words) and persons (2500 words) subsidiary entries of 1000 words, which are entirely biographical informational entries of 500 words, which are also biographical. Consultant Editors: Frederick Beiser, Indiana University, USA; Christopher Duggan, University of Reading, UK; Pamela Pilbeam, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK; Chushichi Tsuzuk

How the utopian tradition offers answers to today's environmental crises In the face of Earth's environmental breakdown, it is clear that technological innovation alone won't save our planet. A more radical approach is required, one that involves profound changes in individual and collective behavior. Utopianism for a Dying Planet examines the ways the expansive history of utopian thought, from its origins in ancient Sparta and ideas of the Golden Age through to today's thinkers, can offer moral and imaginative guidance in the face of catastrophe. The utopian tradition, which has been critical of conspicuous consumption and luxurious indulgence, might light a path to a society that emphasizes equality, sociability, and sustainability. Gregory Claeys unfolds his argument through a wide-ranging consideration of utopian literature, social theory, and intentional communities. He defends a realist definition of utopia, focusing on ideas of sociability and belonging as central to utopian narratives. He surveys the development of these themes during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries before examining twentieth- and twenty-first-century debates about alternatives to consumerism. Claeys contends that the current global warming limit of 1.5C (2.7F) will result in cataclysm if there is no further reduction in the cap. In response, he offers a radical Green New Deal program, which combines ideas from the theory of sociability with proposals to withdraw from fossil fuels and cease reliance on unsustainable commodities. An urgent and comprehensive search for antidotes to our planet's destruction, Utopianism for a Dying Planet asks for a revival of utopian ideas, not as an escape from reality, but as a powerful means of changing it.

A comprehensive study of the social and political thought of Thomas Paine, one of the most important political writers of the modern era and author of "The Rights of Man". This study concentrates on that political tract, and places it in the context of his earlier writings and evolving thoughts. It sets Paine's work against a background of natural law and rights writings, republicanism and radicalism and Paine's Quaker and deist beliefs. The book demonstrates the underlying consistency of Paine's thought, considers at length the British reception of "The Rights of Man" and in its discussion of Paine's ideas presents a new and more sophisticated interpretation of his life, thought and influence.

Since the publication of Thomas More's genre-defining work Utopia in 1516, the field of utopian literature has evolved into an ever-expanding domain. This Companion presents an extensive historical survey of the development of utopianism, from the publication of Utopia to today's dark and despairing tendency towards dystopian pessimism, epitomised by works such as George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four and Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. Chapters address the difficult definition of the concept of utopia, and consider its relation to science fiction and other literary genres. The volume takes an innovative approach to the major themes predominating within the utopian and dystopian literary tradition, including feminism, romance and ecology, and explores in detail the vexed question of the purportedly 'western' nature of the concept of utopia. The reader is provided with a balanced overview of the evolution and current state of a long-standing, rich tradition of historical, political and literary scholarship.

This collection of literary utopias calls for a complete overhaul of existing assumptions about utopian writing in this period. The representation of utopian texts in these volumes shows that William Morris is far from "representative" of basic trends in the genre in this era.

This collection of literary utopias calls for a complete overhaul of existing assumptions about utopian writing in this period. The representation of utopian texts in these volumes shows that William Morris is far from "representative" of basic trends in the genre in this era.

This collection of literary utopias calls for a complete overhaul of existing assumptions about utopian writing in this period. The representation of utopian texts in these volumes shows that William Morris is far from "representative" of basic trends in the genre in this era.

This collection of literary utopias calls for a complete overhaul of existing assumptions about utopian writing in this period. The representation of utopian texts in these volumes shows that William Morris is far from "representative" of basic trends in the genre in this era.

This collection of literary utopias calls for a complete overhaul of existing assumptions about utopian writing in this period. The representation of utopian texts in these volumes shows that William Morris is far from "representative" of basic trends in the genre in this era.

This collection of literary utopias calls for a complete overhaul of existing assumptions about utopian writing in this period. The representation of utopian texts in these volumes shows that William Morris is far from "representative" of basic trends in the genre in this era.

Utopian writing exists at a juncture of literature, politics and science, making this edition a unique resource for the study of 19th-century society. The texts offer an original interpretation of 19th-century culture by contemporary writers, providing new insights for modern researchers from both a literary and historical standpoint.

Containing over 100 pamphlets, this edition provides a resource for the study of Chartism, covering the main areas of Chartist activity, including agitation for the Charter itself, the Land Plan, the issue of moral versus physical force and trade unionism.

Containing over 100 pamphlets, this edition provides a resource for the study of Chartism, covering the main areas of Chartist activity, including agitation for the Charter itself, the Land Plan, the issue of moral versus physical force and trade unionism.

Containing over 100 pamphlets, this edition provides a resource for the study of Chartism, covering the main areas of Chartist activity, including agitation for the Charter itself, the Land Plan, the issue of moral versus physical force and trade unionism.

Containing over 100 pamphlets, this edition provides a resource for the study of Chartism, covering the main areas of Chartist activity, including agitation for the Charter itself, the Land Plan, the issue of moral versus physical force and trade unionism.

Containing over 100 pamphlets, this edition provides a resource for the study of Chartism, covering the main areas of Chartist activity, including agitation for the Charter itself, the Land Plan, the issue of moral versus physical force and trade unionism.

Containing over 100 pamphlets, this edition provides a resource for the study of Chartism, covering the main areas of Chartist activity, including agitation for the Charter itself, the Land Plan, the issue of moral versus physical force and trade unionism.

In the period 1700-1850, the history of utopian thought cast light on ideas of property-holding, community, and social and political reform movements, including those for the extension of rights to slaves, women and animals. This text includes some of the best-known tracts of the period.

In the period 1700-1850, the history of utopian thought cast light on ideas of property-holding, community, and social and political reform movements, including those for the extension of rights to slaves, women and animals. This text includes some of the best-known tracts of the period.

In the period 1700-1850, the history of utopian thought cast light on ideas of property-holding, community, and social and political reform movements, including those for the extension of rights to slaves, women and animals. This text includes some of the best-known tracts of the period.