R.H. Tawney is an iconic thinker in British left-wing circles, whose writings during the early-mid 20th century helped to forge the direction of democratic socialist thinking and Labour Party policies. This book provides a fresh and accessible guide to the ideas of Tawney for new readers and to set straight the record of what Tawney's political thought really is, warts and all, in place of the rather over-simplified picture painted by the major commentators. It shows how Tawney's ideas changed over nearly 40 years of writing, as his own life experiences and the traumatic events of the two World Wars and their aftermaths drew him to a more secular and practical interpretation of politics. The book renders a service to scholarship, being based on original research, including examination of the Tawney Archive at the LSE, and makes use of unpublished works of Tawney.

"Takes a fresh look at the political writing of R.H. Tawney & the authors assert that Tawney's ideas changed markedly through the course of his life and lack the consistency that other interpreters have erroneously attributed to them." * Bookbag *
"The core of this volume is a critique of what the authors see as the predominance in the literature of an 'essentialist' rendition of Tawney's political economy... Moreover Tawney never deviated from the notion of human beings as ends in themselves and not simply means to ends. And the ethical basis of such a position was inextricably imbricated with his Christianity." -- Swansea University
"While Armstrong and Craig recognize the continuing relevance of Tawney's ideas, they are keen to demonstrate that existing scholarship has exaggerated the underlying coherence of some of his ideas, underplayed the changes in his thinking over time and failed to recognize the declining impact of Christianity on his political thought." -- R.M. Page * Social Policy & Administration *
"One almost feels it reflects current political concerns and conflicts much more than those of the first half of the twentieth century. It is for the moral force of this critique that we should continue to turn to Tawney's writings to gain an appreciation not of his stature, but of our obligations." -- Adam Seligman * Review of Politics *