The Christian Democracy of A. D. Lindsay

Published date01 September 1986
AuthorGraham Maddox
DOI10.1111/j.1467-9248.1986.tb01606.x
Date01 September 1986
Subject MatterArticle
Political
Studies
(19861,
XXXIV,
441-455
The Christian Democracy
of
A.
D.
Lindsay
GRAHAM
MADDOX*
University
of
New England, Armidale
Much of value in the conception
of
a democratic state, evident
in
the work of several
English and American scholars writing around the time of the Second World War,
but most forcefully presented by A. D. Lindsay, has been overlooked by con-
temporary scholarship. Lindsay combined
a
‘realist’ acceptance of state power with
a
finely-tuned appreciation of the possibilities of citizenship. His distinctive
contributions to democratic theory, focusing
on
discussion, state power, the
sovereignty of the constitution, voluntary association and the creativity of
democracy, are well worth re-examination, even
if
in the end for Lindsay political
activism was merely a necessary adjunct
to
religious faith.
To the few who have been deeply inspired by
A. D.
Lindsay’s
The Modern
Democratic State,
and who see it as
a
rare classic among works of political
theory written this century,
it
is surprising that his vision of democracy has
made
so
small an impact on succeeding democratic literature.
No
doubt the
state characterized in
it
failed
to
provide a focus sharp enough
to
satisfy the
rigorous demands of modern scholarship, since Lindsay offered no concise
definition
or
coherent syndrome of features for the democratic polity. Much of
the writing was moralistic, hortative and resonant with old-fashioned pietism.
There were overtones of the unpopular (and probably misnamed) ‘protestant
work ethic’. The approach to democracy was historical as well as philosophical,
yet appeared to follow the canons of historiography but loosely.
For
all
that,
it
contained insights breathtaking in their originality and startling in their
penetration.
I
It is not the purpose
of
this article to write, four decades too late, a review of
The Modern Democratic Sfate,
but rather
to
attempt to demonstrate the
continuing freshness
of
Lindsay’s reflections, and to show how his perspective
on democracy was clearer and sharper than much that has been written on the
subject since his time.
*
I
am grateful
to
Professor
R.
N.
Berki and to two anonymous readers
for
helpful comments
on
an earlier draft of this paper.
I
See
A.
D. Lindsay,
The Modern Democratic Stare
(London, Oxford University Press, 1943).
Writing
of
the book, Professor W. B. Gallie observed,
‘If
kept at
one’s
side and opened
at
almost
any page,
it
constantly surprises by the depth and freshness
of
its reflections
on
politics and society’:
A
New University:
A.
D. Lindsay and the Keele Experiment
(London, Chatto and Windus, 1960),
p. 36.
For
further biographical details see also Drusilla Scott, with Tom Lindsay and Dorothy
Ernmet,
A.
D. Lindsay: a Biography
(Oxford, Basil Blackwell,
1971),
and brief articles by
Christopher Hill in the
Dictionary
of
National Biography
and by Melvin Richter
in
the
Inter-
national Encyclopaedia
of
the Social Sciences.
0032-3217/86/03/0441-15/$03.00
0
1986
Political Studies

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT