This book examines the advent of the ‘new liberalism’ in late Victorian and Edwardian times, challenging accepted views about its development. The book analyzes concepts of community, welfare, and state regulation in political theory and stresses the contribution of biological and...

Introduction -- The basis of the neo-liberal state: The nature of the neo-liberal state and the rule of law ; The foundations of the rule of law as a moral ideal ; Freedom, coercion, and the law ; Social justice : a mirage? ; Neo-liberal rights ; The welfare state and the politics of social...