The British Idealists made significant and lasting contributions to the social and political thought of the nineteenth century.They contributed to the evolution

naturlistic terms ,but instead had to be conceived as an evolving spiritual unity .In this respect the British Idealishts developed a distinctive view of the sate consstitutive of the individual,and they are commonly acknowledged as the forerunners of modern communitarian theory.Furthermore the Idealists developed theories of imperialism and internationa relations which at once addressed the issues current in political debate and proposed alternative ways of conceptualising British imperialism and the role of ethics in international relations.In his introduction ,David Boucher develops the themes illustracted in the writings of the British Idealists.This volume also contains biographies of the British Idealists which incorporate their principal works.

DAVID BOUCHER,is Reader in Political Theory and Government at the University of Wales Swansea.