ABSTRACT
The Benthamite liberal tradition represents one variety of political theory which has a relevance for planning, possibly the most important in its effects, but by no means the only one. One problem is that there are so many ambiguities in the Benthamite position that it becomes difficult to say what clearly falls outside permissible varieties of Benthamism. In the language of the preamble the people can see some of the more important contrasts with Benthamism: the 'ideal' is contrasted with the 'economic'; agricultural progress is 'narrow-minded'; it required the 'transformation of German man' before conservation could take place. This chapter shows how conservation can be argued as an end without reference to Benthamite notions of goals, wants, preferences, and the like. Love of the countryside, resentment and fear of development have been emotions shared by many intellectuals in the past century and are half regardless of whether they are ‘left’, ‘right’, ‘centre’ or just eccentric.
