Romantic Rationalist ― A William Godwin Reader

William Godwin (1756?1836) was one of the first exponents of utilitarianism and the first modern proponent of anarchism. He was not only a radical philosopher but a pioneer in libertarian education, a founder of communist economics, and an acute and powerful novelist whose literary family included his partner, pioneering feminist writer Mary Wollstonecraft, and his daughter Mary Godwin (later Mary Shelley), who would go on to write Frankenstein and marry the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. His long life straddled two centuries. Not only did he live at the center of radical and intellectual London during the French Revolution, he also commented on some of the most significant changes in modern history. Shaped by the Enlightenment, he became a key figure in English Romanticism. This work offers for the first time a handy collection of Godwin’s key writings in a clear and concise form, together with an assessment of his influence, a biographical sketch, and an analysis of his contribution to anarchist theory and practice. The selections are taken from all of Godwin’s writings including his groundbreaking work during the French Revolution, An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, and arranged by editor Peter Marshall to give a coherent account of his thought for the general reader. Godwin’s work will be of interest to all those who believe that rationality, truth, happiness, individuality, equality, and freedom are central concerns of human enquiry and endeavor.

John Clark is the Curtin Distinguished Professor in Humane Letters and the Professions, a professor of philosophy, and a member of the environmental studies faculty at Loyola University?New Orleans. He is the author or editor of a dozen books, most recently, The Impossible Community: Realizing Communitarian Anarchism; comoderator of Research on Anarchism, an international multilingual discussion list and research archives; editor of the online journal Psychic Swamp: The Surregional Review; and the author of the ?Imagined Ecologies” column for the journal Capitalism Nature Socialism. He lives in New Orleans. William Godwin (1756?1836) was one of the first exponents of utilitarianism and the first modern proponent of anarchism. He was not only a radical philosopher but a pioneer in libertarian education, a founder of communist economics, and an acute and powerful novelist whose literary family included his partner, pioneering feminist writer Mary Wollstonecraft, and his daughter Mary Godwin (later Mary Shelley), who would go on to write Frankenstein and marry the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Peter Marshall is a historian, philosopher, travel writer, and poet. He has written sixteen books, which have been translated into as many different languages, including Demanding the Impossible: A History of Anarchism and William Godwin, both republished by PM Press. His other works include Nature’s Web: Rethinking Our Place on Earth, Riding the Wind: Liberation Ecology for a New Era, and William Blake: Visionary Anarchist. His circumnavigation of Africa was made into a British television series and an Italian series was based on his work on alchemy, The Philosopher’s Stone. His latest book is Poseidon’s Realm: A Voyage around the Aegean. He was a founder member of a libertarian community in England. He has a doctorate in the history of ideas and has taught part-time philosophy and literature at several British universities. His website is www.petermarshall.net.