Enquirer Concerning Political Justice by William Godwin, vol 1 is composed of 4 books, in which Godwin outlines his revolutionary ideas that make a “distinction between society and government.” His works had a monumental impact on the world of literature and politics during the French Revolution and highly influential on the first and second generation romantics. Godwin, the father of Mary Shelly, was one of the first political philosophers and considered the first modern proponent of anarchism. In his work, Godwin states that justice supersedes freedom between government and society in order to keep the good of the mankind. For Godwin, justice from the government does not exist for ordinary individuals and the rich are the one who controls the poor. Life is extremely important and should not be given preferential treatment to individuals based solely on his or her socioeconomic status or ideology. As he states “we should love our neighbor as ourselves.”

For William, the nature of innate morality and rationality is to put aside “any moral duties” as “mercy, gratitude, temperance,” or any other duty that contradicts the meaning of justice. Godwin, also mentions that “the imperfection of human nature” make us prefer one man to another by not discerning “the comparative worth of different men”. Two people should be treated equally but in real life, one individual has more “worth and importance” than the other. For him, Individuals and government are not working together. In contrast, He believes that society is capable of change and can counteract their beliefs for the welfare of moral justice and political truth.  In his work, Godwin is constantly calling for justice equality but at the same time, he finds himself guilty of being an imperfect human being, since he has the assumption of preferring one of his relatives rather than another person.

“Equality of mankind is either physical or moral.” William Godwin states that between two individuals there is always the weak and the strong, and educated and uneducated. However, these aspects should not be obstacles for humans to be governed and manipulated by others. “It follows therefore that all men are essentially independent – So much for the physical equality.” Freedom will give us a better understanding of life, and correct what it is wrong in society.  Political Society is founded on “the principle of morality and justice”. Justice is a moral obligation, a duty that all individuals should adhere to. For him, justice does not have a philosophical accuracy because society has self-interests that are violating the principles of reason and existence.

Things as They Are or The Adventures of Caleb Williams, written in 1794, tells the story of a young man who was hired as Mr. Falkland’s personal secretary. By the end of volume 1, Caleb Williams suspects that Mr. Falkland is likely to murder Mr. Tyrell. Caleb is a curious individual and will stop at nothing until his curiosity is satisfied. Mr. Hawkins and his son, tenants of Mr. Tyrell were found guilty of his murder and then executed. Mr. Falkland falls in love with Mr. Tyrell’s cousin, who died drastically after she was put in jail by Tyrell. Godwin’s moral philosophy and ideology are also reflected in his book. Caleb Williams focuses on political and psychological aspects in which injustice prevails. Godwin wrote  Things as They Are or The Adventures of Caleb Williams just a year after of Political Justice written in 1793. Through his work, the author tries to speak out and alert society about having equality which should benefit society as a whole. It seems like Godwin identifies himself as the society and Mr. Farkland as the Government in his book. Godwin’s moral beliefs are shown in his novel to indicate there is a moral problem. Godwin thinks that government is the cause of all tragedy and misery and that government should not exist. This statement is a little contradictory because a healthy government is an organism that will take society to prosperity in all aspects or at least will try to fight for it. After the book Things as They Are or The Adventures of Caleb Williams,  William Godwin was criticized and considered by the government as a political propagandist and a threat. Godwin did not have any self-interest other than justice and equality. He writes with passion and believes that a world will be better through literature, justice, and education. He also thinks that “reason” will help us to discipline ourselves. “Reason cannot excite us to action; it is calculated to regulated our conduct.”

The relation that is found between Godwin’s text and other texts is the identification of values and virtues that are represented in his works such as benevolence, political justice, and impartiality. These values approach the representation of Utopia because he looks for improvement in the quality of life. Through his ideological texts, Godwin approaches a utopian socialism in which he manifests with “rational impartiality” that “justice in property” is voluntary to give up on something to give it to the one who needs it the most but this has to be without the use of any force. The act of generosity is to relinquish a personal possession. This might be seen as a part of the representation of Utopia.

Questions:

Do you think we need “reason” for improvement of society?

If there is an abolition of all government in the present life, do you think individuals are going to be able to take justice by themselves without coercion?

If governments would not exist, do you think society would work better by not being controlled?