This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

In this "classical study of British politics by an American authority," Samuel H. Beer describes political parties and interest groups in Great Britain and how they affect public policy. He sketches four different types of politics (corresponding roughly to four different historical periods)-Old Tory, Old Whig, Liberal, and Radical. The fifth and contemporary type he calls collectivism. The main part of the book traces the rise of collectivism from the late nineteenth century through the early decades of this century, until it came to dominate British politics in the post war years.

Lyndon Johnson heralded a "new federalism", as did Ronald Reagan. It was left to the public to puzzle out what such a proclamation, coming from both ends of the political spectrum, could possibly mean. Of one thing we can be certain: theories of federalism, in whatever form they take, are still shaping our nation. The origin of these theories - what they meant to history and how they apply to day - becomes clear in this book by one of our most distinguished writers on political thought. The great English republicans of the seventeenth century appear in this story along with their American descendants, who took the European idea of a federal republic and recast it as new and unique. Samuel Beer's extraordinary knowledge of European political thought, displayed especially in discussions of Thomas Aquinas and James Harrington, allows him to show at every turn the historical precedents and the originality of American federalism in theory and practice. In deft comparisons with Hume, Burke, Blackstone, and Montesquieu, the familiar figures of Madison and Hamilton emerge with new substance and depth, while some who would seem fully known by now, such as Ben Franklin, reveal unsuspected dimensions, and others, such as James Wilson, are lifted from obscurity. Beer uses this history to highlight the contrast between the nation-centered federalism of the framers of the Constitution and the state-centered federalism of its opponents. His concern is not only with historical origins but, more important, with a conflict of ideas which reaches far into our history and continues on to this day. The result is the clearest articulation ever given of the provenance and purpose of the ideas of nationalismand federalism in American political philosophy. A masterpiece of historical and political analysis, this book provides an innovative interpretive framework for understanding democracy and the American Constitution.

This timely collection presents research contributing to the ongoing debate over welfare reform in the 1990s, especially since the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. Some chapters argue that the law will lead states to restrict benefits out of fear of becoming "welfare magnets." Other chapters assert that no such shift is taking place. Still others point to evidence that states are experimenting and serving as "laboratories of democracy." And others suggest that none of these positions captures the complexities of welfare reform. The work behind several contributions supported arguments (on either side) in a Supreme Court case about welfare argued in January 1999.

Contributors are professionals in government and political science, sociology, social work, and public administration. They are Sanford F. Schram, Samuel H. Beer, Mark Carl Rom, Paul E. Peterson, Kenneth F. Scheve, Jr., Frances Fox Piven, Margaret Weir, Scott W. Allard, Joe Soss, Irene Lurie, Thomas Vartanian, Jim Baumohl, Richard P. Nathan, Thomas L. Gais, Karen A. Curtis, Jocelyn M. Johnston, Kara Lindaman, Richard M. Francis, Saundra K. Schneider, Barbara Gault, Heidi Hartmann, and Hsiao-Ye Yi.

Most chapters were prepared for a conference at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and published as a special edition of the journal "Publius." They have been supplemented by two new chapters, a new introduction by Sanford F. Schram, and an index.