Fragment on Government

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. The bulk of Bentham's writings has passed into not unjust oblivion. It would be impossible to renew the life of works so voluminous, so technical, and so frequently disfigured by oddities of thought and style. But it would be unfortunate if those works which most adequately represent Bentham's peculiar genius and which have left a mark upon speculation in England were to remain buried under the weight of dead, unprofitable matter. These works may the more easily be made available inasmuch as they are few and not of great length. Chief amongst them are the Fragment on Government, and the Principles of Morals and Legislation. The latter treatise has already been reprinted by the Clarendon Press. The Fragment on Government, which has long been out of print, is now offered to the public. The Introduction prefixed aims at shewing the place of Bentham in the history of thought, and the significance of the Fragment as a contribution to political philosophy.