Introduction: William Godwin and Political Justice

Abstract

William Godwin burst on to the British intellectual scene in 1793 with his anarchist critique of contemporary moral and political discourse Enquiry Concerning Political Justice. Along with his novel Things as They Are; or, The Adventures of Caleb Williams (1794), Political Justice has attracted the bulk of subsequent scholarly interest. This essay explores the dominant themes and concerns of Political Justice. It stresses how these were critiqued, refined, developed, and defended in his numerous and generically varied later writings. Special attention is given to Godwin’s grappling with the twin claims of sympathy and reason, to his consistent and unrepentant commitment to individual autonomy, and to his abiding determination to provoke the discussion requisite for intellectual and social change.