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Single Idea 23028

[filed under theme 24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 7. Communitarianism / a. Communitarianism ]

Full Idea

Political effort in all its highest forms is the expression of a belief in the reality of the social spirit as the deeper element in the individual.

Gist of Idea

The highest political efforts express our deeper social spirit

Source

report of T.H. Green (Lectures on the Principles of Political Obligation [1882]) by John H. Muirhead - The Service of the State I

Book Ref

Muirhead,John H.: 'The Service of the State: T.H. Green' [John Murray 2021], p.4


A Reaction

Although Green is rather literally spiritual, if we express it as a central aspect of human nature, this idea strikes me as correct. Writing in 2021, I am totally bewildered by the entire absence of any 'higher' forms of political expression.


The 9 ideas from 'Lectures on the Principles of Political Obligation'

Equality also implies liberty, because equality must be of opportunity as well as possessions [Green,TH]
The highest political efforts express our deeper social spirit [Green,TH, by Muirhead]
Communism is wrong because it restricts the freedom of individuals to contribute to the community [Green,TH, by Muirhead]
Knowledge is secured by the relations between its parts, through differences and identities [Green,TH, by Muirhead]
National spirit only exists in the individuals who embody it [Green,TH, by Muirhead]
The ground of property ownership is not force but the power to use it for social ends [Green,TH, by Muirhead]
States only have full authority if they heed the claims of human fellowship [Green,TH]
Original common ownership is securing private property, not denying it [Green,TH, by Muirhead]
Property is needed by all citizens, to empower them to achieve social goods [Green,TH]