Beyond Liberty and Property: The Process of Self-Recognition in Eighteenth-Century Political Thought (Electronic book text)

The themes explored include political liberty, legal tyranny, defences of influence in government, recognition of the Opposition, and the development of organic categories of political analysis - the latter in a chapter that explodes the association often presumed between organicism and conservative modes of thought. A chapter on the Fourth Estate examines the gradual process of legitimation of interests, culminating in the influence of the press. Central to the account of new political forces and their recognition is the idea of public opinion, which evolved during this period from the notion of public spirit.