A. R. Lord and Later Idealist Political Philosophy

In: The British journal of politics & international relations: BJPIR, Band 7, Heft 1, S. 48-66

Abstract

This essay introduces and discusses some central themes in the political philosophy of the British/South African idealist, Arthur Ritchie Lord (1880–1941). Lord was the author of the most substantial text of third generation 'British idealist' political thought, The Principles of Politics (1921) , but many of his manuscripts from the 1920s to early 1940s have only recently been prepared for publication. I argue that Lord's work provides valuable insights into the development of later idealist political philosophy, particularly on two themes that distinguish it from that of Lord's idealist predecessors, T. H. Green and Bernard Bosanquet—namely, democracy and freedom. This study also raises the question of whether the distinctively pluralistic context of South Africa had an influence on Lord's analysis of these themes.