approach goodness through social relations naturally
brings into question the role of the state, politics, and
power. Here, Green distinguishes between negative
and positive freedoms. The former he associated with
the contract tradition of liberalism, in particular with
Hobbes and Locke. Negative freedom diminishes,
rather than increases, our capacity to seek self-perfec-
tion by isolating us instead of binding us within the
social whole and casting individuals as mere competi-
tors for material goods. Positive freedom, on the other
hand, is a freedom exercised within society, with and
through the support of the state and social and politi-
cal institutions. The state thus has a duty to provide
the bases of support that enable citizens to seek the
moral good.
Although Green emphasized the role of govern-
ment and the social character of moral and political
ideals, he was not a communitarian, and neither was
he a perfectionist. The foundation of moral and politi-
cal values is the individual; there are no sui generis
social values, and in spite of the role he assigns to the
state, he did not think it was its task to instruct or fos-
ter particular moral values. He believed that citizens
should find their own way toward self-perfection and
that given the opportunity they would find their way
to the Christian ideal to which Green himself sub-
scribed.
Green’s own life reflected his liberal philosophy. He
was very active as a citizen in political life, serving in
elected office, supporting progressive reforms in work-
ing conditions, and promoting education. He was born
in Birkin, Yorkshire, England, the child of a minister.
He spent his academic career at Oxford becoming the
Whyte’s professor of moral philosophy in 1878. He
died very young at the age of 44. Nearly all his work
was published posthumously, including his unfinished
Prologomena to Ethics.His political and other writings
are collected in three volumes, The Works of Thomas
Hill Green,edited by R. L. Nettleship.
Further Reading
Richter, M. The Politics of Conscience: T.H. Green and His Age.
Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1964.
Grotius, Hugo (1583–1645) Dutch jurist and
political philosopher
Famous for his early formulation of MODERN NATURAL-
RIGHTS political philosophy that greatly influenced
British REPUBLICANISM (John LOCKE) and American
DEMOCRACY(Thomas JEFFERSON). He argued that two
principles underlie all political morality: (1) self-
preservation of human life is always legitimate, and (2)
harm or injury of others (except in self-defense) is
always illegitimate. This materialist view of human
ethics contrasted with CLASSICAL(ARISTOTLE) and ME-
DIEVAL(St. Thomas AQUINAS) political theory, but it
formed a basis for LIBERAL CIVIL-SOCIETY, SOCIAL-CON-
TRACTgovernment and private PROPERTYrights. These
“laws of nature” are fully developed in John Locke’s
Second Treatise of Governmentin the 1680s where they
justified the parliamentary revolution of 1688. Thomas
Jefferson’s DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE similarly
draws on these ideas.
In his own country of Holland, Grotius advanced
an aristocratic IMPERIALIST republicanism, justifying
both a limited MONARCHYin the Netherlands and for-
eign expansion of Dutch trade and colonialism. Much
of his political writings dealt with INTERNATIONAL LAW
(just-war doctrine, foreign relations, etc.). As a HUMAN-
ISTscholar, he edited classical Greek and Latin texts
and wrote about ancient history. He served in the gov-
ernment of the United Provinces, culminating in chief
executive of Rotterdam. His career came to an
unhappy end when he was tried and convicted of trea-
son and sentenced to life in prison. Escaping, he lived
in Paris, served as Sweden’s ambassador to France, and
was finally killed in a shipwreck. A prolific author and
political activist, Grotius became a hero of the
ENLIGHTENMENT. His religious skepticism and advocacy
of LIBERTYof conscience led to religious FREEDOMand
TOLERATION.Further Readings
Grotius, Hugo. De iure praedae,G. L. Williams, transl. 1950.
———. De iure belli ac pacis,F. W. Kelsey, transl. 1925.
Knight, W. S. M. The Life and Works of Hugo Grotius.London:
Sweet and Maxwell, 1925.
Tuck, R. Natural Rights Theories.Cambridge, Eng.: Cambridge
University Press, 1979.
———. Grotius, Carneades and Hobbes,Grotiana new ser. 4.
1983.guild
An economic group of shared activity or trade with
political influence, especially during the European
MIDDLE AGES. Examples of guilds are merchant guilds,
such as all the commercial stores in a given city (such
as Florence, Italy) and craft guilds (such as all the128 Grotius, Hugo