The New Leviathan or Man, Society, Civilisation and Barbarism. By
R. G. Collingwood. (Clarendon Press. zxs.)
Shorter Notice
The New Leviathan or Man, Society, Civilisation and Barbarism. By R. G. Collingwood. (Clarendon Press. zxs.)
THIS is a lively, pugnacious, dogmatic book which covers at least as much ground as its title promises and gives its readers samples of most forms of argument, from rather austere definitions of terms to brisk statements and solutions of complicated problems like those raised by the alleged need for formal education of children. By a route which may be straight but is certainly rather long, the reader is led up to a point where he is taken for a historical canter, during which he is shown the kingdoms of barbarism ; the past failure of those kingdoms to do all the ill they intended is noted and a confi- dence that history, in this case, will repeat itself, is asserted. We may hope that Dr. Collingwood is right without being convinced by his historical argument, and we may profit by his acute, if too acrimonious, discussion of some of the central themes of political doctrine.
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