An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, and its Influence on.. 2 Vols
PMM 243: Godwin's Political Justice. A Foundational Text of Philosophical Anarchism and Early Utilitarian Thought Godwin, William. [1756-1836]. An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, and its Influence on General Virtue and Happiness. London: Printed for G.G.J. and J. Robinson, 1793. Two volumes, quarto (10-1/2" x 8-1/4"), continuous pagination: xiii, [21], 378; [1], 380-895, [3] pp. Complete. Near-contemporary three-quarter calf over marbled boards, spines gilt in compartments with raised bands and lettering-pieces, edges speckled red, endpapers renewed. A little light toning and occasional foxing; a clean tear to Q1 (Vol. I, pp. 113-114) neatly repaired without loss; small repaired chip to B2 (Vol. I); discreet library stamps to versos of titles; early ownership signatures (David Duncan) to first text leaves. A very good, well-presented set. $5,000. * First edition. One of the central monuments of late eighteenth-century political thought, published in the immediate intellectual aftermath of the French Revolution. Alongside the writings of Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine, Godwin's Enquiry stands as a defining intervention in the debate over the moral and political consequences of that upheaval. Its importance is both immediate and long-range. As noted in Printing and the Mind of Man, it is "one of the earliest, clearest, and most absolute theoretical expositions" of doctrines later associated with philosophical anarchism and socialism. Godwin advances a rigorously rationalist ethics: human conduct is governed-or ought to be governed-by reason alone; reason leads to benevolence; and a society ordered by enlightened judgment would render coercive institutions-government, law, even property-obsolete. In this sense, Political Justice is at once a critique of existing structures and a speculative blueprint for a radically decentralized moral order. The work also bears directly on the evolution of utilitarian thought, anticipating later formulations by grounding moral obligation in the promotion of general happiness through rational deliberation. Its influence extended widely: some 4,000 copies were sold within a few years, and its circulation was amplified through corresponding societies, where it was read aloud and discussed among members lacking the means to purchase it. Godwin's intellectual milieu further.
Price: $5,000.00
Book number 82411