Liberty in the modern state by Harold J. Laski
"Liberty in the modern state" by Harold J. Laski is a treatise on political philosophy written in the early 20th century. It explores what liberty means in modern societies and argues that genuine freedom requires limits on political power alongside enabling conditions such as equality, democracy, an independent judiciary, and freedom of thought and association. The work assesses constitutional mechanisms and social habits that safeguard individual autonomy, emphasizing that liberty is sustained
by vigilant citizens, not by institutions alone. The opening of the treatise defines liberty as the absence of restraints that block the social conditions necessary for individual happiness, rejects the idealist claim that freedom lies in obedience to the state, and insists on the primacy of unique individual wills and conscience. It connects liberty with equality of opportunities, warns against unchecked power (even under democracy), and defends electoral accountability, judicial independence, and safeguards against administrative overreach, while noting that Bills of Rights work only when backed by a public will to defend them. Laski urges decentralization and functional self-government, treats law as an appeal that must win consent, and affirms a qualified right to resist unjust authority. The beginning of the second chapter centers freedom of mind—speech, press, and association—as essential to liberty, arguing that censorship is unworkable and counterproductive (especially in matters labeled obscene or blasphemous), allowing only narrow limits regarding personal defamation; it then turns to sedition, distinguishing and favoring protection for written political argument. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
Read or download for free
For an overview of the different reading options, see our Reading Guide
| Reading Options | Url | Size | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Read now! | https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/78171.html.images | 361 kB | |||
| EPUB3 (E-readers incl. Send-to-Kindle) | https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/78171.epub3.images | 314 kB | |||
| EPUB (older E-readers) | https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/78171.epub.images | 315 kB | |||
| EPUB (no images, older E-readers) | https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/78171.epub.noimages | 222 kB | |||
| Kindle | https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/78171.kf8.images | 471 kB | |||
| older Kindles | https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/78171.kindle.images | 445 kB | |||
| Plain Text UTF-8 | https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/78171.txt.utf-8 | 325 kB | |||
| Download HTML (zip) | https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/78171/pg78171-h.zip | 263 kB | |||
| There may be more files related to this item. | |||||
Similar Books
About this eBook
| Author | Laski, Harold J. (Harold Joseph), 1893-1950 |
|---|---|
| LoC No. | 30028458 |
| Title | Liberty in the modern state |
| Edition | First edition. |
| Original Publication | New York: Harper & Brothers, 1930. |
| Credits | Sean – @parchmentglow |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | JC: Political science: Political theory |
| Subject | Political science |
| Subject | Liberty |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 78171 |
| Release Date | Mar 11, 2026 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 344 downloads in the last 30 days. |
| Project Gutenberg eBooks are always free! | |