ABSTRACT
T. H. Green's idea of the state rests upon his idea of rights and his idea of rights upon his idea of the common good. The dominant ethical theory is philosophically untenable, primarily because the idea of the common good takes no account of the implications of finitude. There are three distinct parts in Green's ethical theory in the Prolegomena. In the first this is Personal Good, in the second Common Good and in the third True Good. This chapter shows that there are the rudiments of such an ethics in Green's political theory although they need to be disentangled from his metaphysical morality of the true good. Green is concerned with the motive of every imputable action, that is, every action which the agent is conscious on reflection that he is answerable. Green of course agrees that people should think and act as members of their community.
