L. T. hobhouse’s new liberalism and the reformulation of ideology

Tese de doutoramento, Estudos de Literatura e de Cultura (Estudos Ingleses), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Letras, 2014

L. T. Hobhouse (1864-1929) was a prominent journalist, sociologist, scholar and political thinker, as well as one of the most important representatives of the new liberalism that emerged in Britain in the last decades of the 19th century and subsequently influenced the nature of politics in the 20th century, namely as far as the expansion of the welfare state is concerned. In a context of great social instability, but also one of dynamic political and ideological debate, Hobhouse’s new liberalism promoted a belief in an organic conception of society characterised by a harmonious and cooperative relationship between the individual, the state and the community. His proposal implied a redefinition of the roles of these three entities, so as to allow for and foster individual development and the common good, both of which were of crucial importance for progress. We therefore find, in his political thought, the merging together of traditional liberal ideas, coupled with the expression of concerns of an imminently social nature. In this thesis, I shall link the analysis of Hobhouse’s new liberalism with the study of the context in which it was developed, as well as with the doctrines of earlier generations of liberals who influenced Hobhouse’s own thought. The objective will be that of understanding how he reconciled his declared allegiance to the core tenets of liberalism with a vigorous defence of the need for social reform, which also implied the adaptation of those very same tenets to a new reality, in order to respond to contemporary concerns.