Citizenship and Community
Liberals, Radicals and Collective Identities in the British Isles, 1865–1931

A comparative, regional exploration of radicalism and the concept of 'community' in Britain.

Eugenio F. Biagini (Edited by)

9780521893602, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 20 June 2002

384 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.2 cm, 0.56 kg

'… a collection of essays which adds finesse and diversity to our understanding of British progressivism in a formative period …'. Michael Freeden, Labour History Review

In 1883 the radical journalist W. E. Adams described community self-government as 'the essence of all political liberalism that is worthy of the name'. This collaborative volume of essays enlarges upon Adams' thesis, applying it to the study of various 'currents of radicalism' in Britain and Ireland, and ranging from Victorian advanced liberals to Irish and Welsh socialists in the 1920s. Citizenship and Community explores the links between liberalism, social democracy and nationalism within the framework of classical republican ideals of 'civic virtue' and active citizenship. Its strong comparative emphasis breaks down conventional views of the state, and focuses attention on the regions of Britain, revealing how different forms of collective identity interacted in popular attitudes to political and social debates at a national level.

Introduction: Citizenship, liberty and community E. F. Biagini
Part I. Citizenship, Populism and Liberalism: 1. Liberalism and direct democracy: J. S. Mill and the model of ancient Athens E. F. Biagini
2. The limits of liberalism: liberals and the women's movement 1866–1907 M. Pugh
3. Women, community and citizenship, 1918–1930 Pat Thane
4. Democracy and popular religion: Moody and Sankey's mission to Britain 1873–75 J. Coffey
5. Disestablishment and democracy, c. 1840–1930 G. I. T. Machin
Part II. Economic Democracy and the 'Moral Economy' of Free Trade: 6. The National Agricultural Labourers' Union and the demand for a stake in the soil, 1873–85 N. Scotland
7. 'The food of the people': free trade, protectionism and the liberal opposition to the Cattle Diseases Bill, 1878 J. Spain
8. Free trade c. 1880–1926: an old response to a new challenge? A. Howe
9. The strange death of free trade: from individual consumerism to collectivist productivism, British political economy, 1903–1932 F. Trentman
Part III. Democracy, Organicism, and the Challenge of Nationalism: 10. Land, religion and the changing electoral system in Ulster, 1870–1881 G. Greenlee
11. Nationalizing the ideal? Labour and nationalism in Ireland 1909–1923 C. Fitzpatrick
12. The crofting community, German idealism and the highland land reform 1885–1886 J. Shaw
13. The Welsh radical tradition and the ideal of a democratic popular culture, 1900–40 R. Lewis
14. Platonism, positivism and progressivism: aspects of British sociological thought in the early twentieth century Jose Harris.

Subject Areas: Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900 [HBLL], British & Irish history [HBJD1]