THE ELEMENTS OF POLITICS is part of an impressive catalog of books by the English philosopher and educator Henry Sidgwick.

First published in 1898, this two-part work is a collection of twenty essays, all of which represent his ideas related to the scope and method of politics, fundamental conceptions of politics and general principles of legislation, inheritance and property rights, contracts and remedies for wrongs, the maintenance of government as well as law and morality.

Throughout his work, Sidgwick addressed politics and all its inherent problems with acuity, genuine concern, and the enduring rationale he brought to all his writings.


HENRY SIDGWICK (1838-1900) was a prominent scholar at Trinity College and a distinguished Professor of Moral Philosophy at Cambridge. As the quintessential Victorian, he was the perfect 19th Century English academic (although he temporarily lost his fellowship in 1869 over his refusal to make a religious oath; he was re-elected in 1885). Additional works include Principles (1883), Methods of Ethics (1874), and Edgeworth (1877).