ABSTRACT
[The nature and extent of Bentham's influence on nineteenth century legislative, administrative and political reform have been a subject of considerable controversy in recent years. A. V. Dicey in his Lectures upon the relation between Law and Public Opinion in England during the Nineteenth Century saw Bentham as providing a philosophical rationale of both individualism and collectivism and regarded him as one of the most powerful influences in moulding public opinion in the nineteenth century. Dicey's view was widely accepted until Oliver MacDonagh questioned it in his influential article, ‘The Nineteenth Century Revolution in Government: A Reappraisal’, in Historical Journal,I, 1958. MacDonagh contended that Benthamism was in many ways ‘an obstacle … to the development of modern government’ and that its genuine contribution consisted not so much in creating a new climate of public opinion as in inspiring particular individuals to propose and pursue particular policies. Professor Roberts in his article, reprinted here from Victorian Studies,March, 1959 shares MacDonagh's scepticism but suggests that, although Bentham can by no stretch of imagination be said to have fathered the nineteenth century revolution in government', he did offer a forceful justification of reform and some interesting concrete proposals. Dicey on the one hand and MacDonagh and Roberts on the other thus provide two opposing views on Bentham's influence. Other writers take positions somewhere in between. An interested reader will find the following articles of particular interest: Henry Parris, The Nineteenth Century Revolution in Government: A Reappraisal Reappraised, Historical Journal,III, 1960; Jennifer Hart, Nineteenth Century Social Reform: A Tory Interpretation of History, Past and Present,XXXI, 1965; Valerie Cromwell, Interpretations of Nineteenth Century Administration: An Analysis, Victorian Studies,March, 1966; L. J. Hume, Jeremy Bentham and the Nineteenth Century Revolution in Government, Historical Journal,X, 1967; and William Aydelotte, The Conservative and Radical Interpretations of Early Victorian Social Legislation, Victorian Studies,December, 1967—Editor.]
