'This book is excellent and deserves a wide audience. As a combination of political theory and institutional analysis, it is better than anything else on offer in the field. The linking of ideas, history and institutional analysis, it is very deftly done. ... This book is a major contribution to one of central political traditions of the modern world.' <i>Raymond Plant, University of Southampton</i> <p>'... an impressive, informative, and highly stimulating piece of work. It is certainly a welcome contribution to the analysis of a vital body of Western political thought.' <i>International Affairs</i></p> <p>'Impressive and scholarly.' <i>Political Studies</i></p> <p>'Avaluable analysis of the various strands constitutive of modern liberalism. Well-written and clearly organized.' <i>Philosophical Quarterly</i></p> <p>'This book will become one of the basic introductions to the sociology of liberalism and a basic resource for all those who are concerned with reassessing the nature and claims of contemporary democratic thought.' <i>British Journal of Sociology</i></p> <p>'Bellamy's book is highly commendable. His social historical analysis of the evolution of liberalism is a significant contribution to the literature.'</p> <p>'Bellamy's successful joining of historical exposition of societal / political moralities and structures with analysis of philosophical ideas is impressive.' <i>Millennium</i></p>