“For a rational being, there can be only one rule of conduct, justice, and one way to verify this rule, the exercise of understanding.” These are the claims of William Godwin in his Political Justice, the founding text of philosophical anarchism.

Written immediately after the French Revolution, and with the full title "An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, and Its Influence on General Virtue and Happiness," published in 1793, it serves as an example of the political optimism felt by many authors and intellectuals.

Godwin based his ideas on the Enlightenment and his background in religious dissent regarding the principles of justice, utility, and the sanctity of individual judgment, which led to his strong critique of all forms of secular and religious authority.

He predicts the triumph of justice and equality over injustice, reason over matter, and the ultimate victory of human frailty and mortality. He also anticipates the gradual abolition of the practices governing property, punishment, and law.

Man was recognized as a progressive being, capable of perfection to the highest degree, while Reason, acknowledged by Godwin as the strongest function of the human spirit, serves as the immediate engine of action and guides the free movements of people.

Reason, in turn, determines Ethics, the identity of which is the social science of Politics. The goals of humanity were defined as spiritual and material happiness, which, however, cannot be achieved without Virtue, Justice, and Morality.

Political Justice raises deep philosophical questions regarding the nature of our duty to others, which remain at the center of contemporary discussions about ethics and politics.