On the History of the Idea of Law traces the development of the philosophical theory of law from its first appearance in Plato's writings to today. Shirley Letwin finds important and positive insights and tensions in the theories of Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, and Hobbes as well as confusion and serious errors introduced by Cicero, Aquinas, Bentham, and Marx. She harnesses the insights of H.L.A. Hart and especially Michael Oakeshott to mount a devastating attack on the late twentieth-century theories of Ronald Dworkin, the Critical Legal Studies movement, and feminist jurisprudence.

On the History of the Idea of Law

Letwin, Shirley Robin

Philosophy

Cambridge University Press

On the History of the Idea of Law traces the development of the philosophical theory of law from its first appearance in Plato's writings to today. Shirley Letwin finds important and positive insights and tensions in the theories of Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, and Hobbes as well as confusion and serious errors introduced by Cicero, Aquinas, Bentham, and Marx. She harnesses the insights of H.L.A. Hart and especially Michael Oakeshott to mount a devastating attack on the late twentieth-century theories of Ronald Dworkin, the Critical Legal Studies movement, and feminist jurisprudence.

Politics & Social Sciences

The Gentleman in Trollope: Individuality and Moral Conduct

Harvard University Press

The Pursuit of Certainty: David Hume, Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Beatrice Webb

By examining the thought of four seminal thinkers, Shirley Robin Letwin in The Pursuit of Certainty provides a brilliant record of the gradual change in the English-speaking peoples' understanding of "what sort of activity politics is." As Letwin writes, "the distinctive political issue since the eighteenth century has been whether government should do more or less." Nor, as many historians argue, did this issue arise because of the Industrial Revolution or "new social conditions [that] aggravated the problem of poverty" but, Letwin believes, because of the "profoundly personal reflection" of major thinkers, including Hume, Bentham, Mill, and Webb. David Hume, for example, believed that to "reach for perfection, to seek an ideal, is noble, but dangerous, and is therefore an activity that individuals or voluntary groups may pursue, but governments certainly should not." By the end of the nineteenth century, as Letwin observes, Beatrice Webb came to "equate the triumph of reason over passion with the rule of science over human life." Thus did the "pursuit of certainty" displace the traditional English understanding of the limitations of human nature—hence the necessity of limits to governmental power and programs. Consequently, in our time, "Politics was no longer one of several human activities and at that not a very noble one; it encompassed all of human life" in quest of philosophical "certainty" and social perfection. The Liberty Fund edition is a reprint of the original work published by Oxford in 1965. Shirley Robin Letwin (1924–1993) was a Professor of Political and Legal Philosophy at Harvard, Cambridge, and the London School of Economics.

Liberty Fund

The Anatomy of Thatcherism

The Anatomy of Thatcherism explains how, for the first time in British history, a prime minister's name has become an 'Ism'�a symbol of a profound social change. Letwin argues that Thatcherism promoted a moral agenda rather than an economic doctrine or a political theory in order to achieve a fundamental realignment in British politics. She introduces a new term�"the vigorous virtues"�to describe what Thatcherites have aimed to cultivate in Individual Britons and In the country as a whole.Her definition of Thatcherism is supported by a detailed analysis of the principal Thatcherite policies and the grounds on which they were advocated and opposed, Inside and outside the Conservative Party. Without departing from a lucid and lively style or resorting to technical jargon. Dr. Letwin explains such innovations as schools opting out, budget holding by GPs, and the creation of the first ever competitive spot market in electricity. Just how did the Thatcherite administrations shape the reform of the unions? How is the Thatcherite attitude to the family connected with Thatcherite policies on schools? Why does mon-etarism appear�wrongly�to be at the heart of Thatcherism?The Anatomy of Thatcherism is a bold and searching book about how Britain changed between 1979 and 1992. It challenges many truisms about British politics, and Is indispensable reading both for those who believe in the future relevance of Thatcherism and for those who want to demolish it. And it will be of particular interest to those con-cerned with the history of British politics, as It shows how Thatcherism both arose out of, and confronted, trends that had per-meated Conservatism for the entire twentieth century.

History

Europe

Routledge

The Anatomy of Thatcherism explains how, for the first time in British history, a prime minister's name has become an 'Ism'—a symbol of a profound social change. Letwin argues that Thatcherism promoted a moral agenda rather than an economic doctrine or a political theory in order to achieve a fundamental realignment in British politics. She introduces a new term—"the vigorous virtues"—to describe what Thatcherites have aimed to cultivate in Individual Britons and In the country as a whole. Her definition of Thatcherism is supported by a detailed analysis of the principal Thatcherite policies and the grounds on which they were advocated and opposed, Inside and outside the Conservative Party. Without departing from a lucid and lively style or resorting to technical jargon. Dr. Letwin explains such innovations as schools opting out, budget holding by GPs, and the creation of the first ever competitive spot market in electricity. Just how did the Thatcherite administrations shape the reform of the unions? How is the Thatcherite attitude to the family connected with Thatcherite policies on schools? Why does monetarism appear—wrongly—to be at the heart of Thatcherism? The Anatomy of Thatcherism is a bold and searching book about how Britain changed between 1979 and 1992. It challenges many truisms about British politics, and Is indispensable reading both for those who believe in the future relevance of Thatcherism and for those who want to demolish it. And it will be of particular interest to those concerned with the history of British politics, as It shows how Thatcherism both arose out of, and confronted, trends that had permeated Conservatism for the entire twentieth century.

The most perfect gentleman in Trollope's novels is Madame Max Goesler. She was the daughter of a humble Jewish attorney, and her only endowments by birth were beauty and intelligence. But she inherited a fortune from her husband and with these assets Marie Goesler moved from Vienna to London, hoping to make her way into the top social circles. She succeeded so well that the highest duke of all offered her his coronet.

Literature & Fiction

British & Irish

The Akadine Press

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Books by Letwin, Shirley Robin

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Letwin, Shirley Robin. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

On the History of the Idea of Law

On the History of the Idea of Law

The Gentleman in Trollope: Individuality and Moral Conduct

The Pursuit of Certainty: David Hume, Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Beatrice Webb

The Pursuit of Certainty: David Hume, Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Beatrice Webb

The Anatomy of Thatcherism

The Anatomy of Thatcherism

The Gentleman in Trollope: Individuality and Moral Conduct