From Leonard Hobhouse to Tony Blair: A Sociological Connection?

Abstract

Aspects of the work of Britain's central contemporary sociological theorist, Anthony Giddens, are compared with that of L. T. Hobhouse, whose 1907 appointment as Martin White Professor at LSE marked the beginning of academic sociology in this country. The paper argues that in spite of much diversity during ninety years of academic sociology there is evidence for the existence of institutional, theoretical and political continuity in the mainstream. Institutional continuity results from the sluggish development of sociology during the first half of the century, when the only sociology degrees on offer were those validated by the LSE as part of the University of London. Theoretical continuity is evident in marked similarities between Giddens and Hobhouse, particularly in respect of their concepts of agency and reflexivity, as well as in their optimistic assessment of contemporary social trends. Hobhouse made a major contribution to the construction of New Liberal theory in the first quarter of the twentieth century. Giddens's political involvement with New Labour does not mark a substantial shift of alignment between sociology and party politics, but is essentially a continuation of the relationship fostered by Hobhouse between sociological theory and New Liberal politics.