ABSTRACT
Robert Cox has drawn a distinction between what he calls problem-solving theory, which works within the assumptions of the order to solve problems that face that order, and critical theory, which criticises the structures of power in order to build something new. David Mitrany sees the evolution of government, as it introduces rational solutions to the problems caused by the expansion of society. Mitrany's description of the shift from problems of legal order, to ones of organic interdependence carries weight because the two centuries he is dealing with had similar assumptions about the goals of human existence. Fundamentalism, of religion, of the market, of cults, or nationality, is bigger problems than the radical doubts of a handful of contemporary philosophers. Norman Angell's ideas of international government and Mitrany's functional theory set out to deal with the problems of conflict between sovereign states, but in such a way as to extend democratic rule and intellectual tolerance.
