The year 2002 sees the centenary of J.A. Hobson's Imperialism: A Study, the most influential critique of British imperial expansion ever written. Peter Cain marks the occasion by evaluating, for the first time, Hobson's writings on imperialism from his days as a journalist in London to his death in 1940. The early chapters chart Hobson's progress from complacent imperialist in the 1880s to radical critic of empire by 1898. This is followed by an account of the origins of Imperialism and a close analysis of the text in the context of contemporary debates. Two chapters cover Hobson's later...

First published in 1995. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This four-volume boxed set makes available to the economist key contemporary writings on free trade and protectionism, as they appeared in British periodicals between 1815 and 1914.

The eight books reprinted in this set played an important role in defining attitudes and expectations about imperialism on the British Left in the twentieth century. They are vital in understanding the transition from the liberal anti-imperialism of the nineteenth century to the more overtly socialist critiques of the twentieth.

The philosopher W.B. Gallie argued that there could be no simple definition of words such as freedom because they embodied what he called essentially contested concepts. They were words whose meaning had to be fought over and whose competing definitions arose out of political struggle and conflict.

The Key Issues series aims to make available the contemporary responses that met important books and debates on their first appearance. These take the form of journal articles, book extracts, public letters, sermons and pamphlets which provides an insight into the historical relevance and the social and political context in which a publication or particular topic emerged.

The 1870s is a key decade in the evolution of British thinking about the nature, purpose, and future of empire. Increasing economic competition began to disturb the complacent assumption about Britain's leadership in technology and in the world economy. The growth of other countries, most notably the United States and Germany, put in question Britain's survival as a great power. These changes set in motion a reappraisal of Britain's empire and its importance to the motherland, and a heated debated as to whether colonialism and imperialism were a burden rather than a benefit to Britain. The...