THE ONLINE LIBRARY OF LIBERTY © Liberty Fund, Inc. 2006 http://oll.libertyfund.org/ WILLIAM GODWIN, AN ENQUIRY CONCERNING POLITICAL JUSTICE, VOL. 1 (1793) The Online Library of Liberty is a project of Liberty Fund, Inc., a non-profit educational foundation based in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. Liberty Fund, was established to foster thought and encourage discourse on the nature of individual liberty, limited and constitutional government, and the free market. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Godwin was an English radical political philosopher and novelist. He was married to Mary Wollstonecraft. ABOUT THE BOOK Godwin’s best known work of political theory. Written in the early years of the French Revolution before the Terror had begun, Godwin provides a devastating critique of unjust government institutions and optimistically proposes that individuals not the state can best provide for their needs. He believed that political change could best be brought about gradually and as a result of free discussion in small communities. This work has inspired many generations of radical thinkers. THE EDITION USED An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, and its Influence on General Virtue and Happiness (1793) (London: G.G.J. and J. Robinson, 1793). COPYRIGHT INFORMATION The text of this edition is in the public domain. FAIR USE STATEMENT This material is put online to further the educational goals of Liberty Fund, Inc. Unless otherwise stated in the Copyright Information section above, this material may be used freely for educational and academic purposes. It may not be used in any way for profit. .