The ethical state: Social liberalism and the critique of contract

Australian political tradition is often characterised in terms of utilitari anism and pragmatic attitudes towards the role of the state. In this paper I argue that to understand Australian political tradition one must also und erstand the importance of idealist liberalism at the time of Australia's na tion-building. In particular, I suggest that the central Australian politic al institution of conciliation and arbitration embodied the philosophical c ritique of contract and the concept of the ethical state articulated by lat e nineteenth-century liberals from T.H. Green onwards. I discuss some of th ose responsible for transmitting these ideas to Australia and their role as practical reformers. In conclusion I argue that under the influence of Gre en, liberalism evolved in ways more compatible with feminism that is often acknowledged.