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What holds a society together—and what must change when its order leaves people poor and dependent?
In A Modern Symposium, Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson brings political creeds face to face. The Tory, the Liberal, the Socialist, the Anarchist and the Mystic each explain what they believe and why. Drawing on Plato's dialogue form, Dickinson lets ideas meet through conversation rather than asking you to accept one voice speaking from above.
The Tory defends inherited institutions and habits that hold society together. The Socialist asks what freedom means when wealth leaves people dependent, while the Anarchist joins the challenge to property and the state. The Mystic shifts the ground: beyond institutions, what gives human life its worth? Each position reveals its promises, fears and weaknesses.
What you’ll discover
- Ideas face to face Hear rival convictions answer one another, with room to weigh each argument for yourself.
- The case for tradition Explore the Tory's fear that tearing down old forms can destroy what binds people together.
- Freedom under pressure Consider the Socialist's challenge to political freedom when poverty and dependence shape daily life.
- Property and the state Follow the Socialist and Anarchist as they question how society distributes wealth and power.
- Life beyond institutions Let the Mystic's questions draw you toward what politics serves and what makes life worthwhile.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this book if you love lively argument, politics and ideas told through vivid characters, and many minds disagreeing in turn from dusk to dawn.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Loyalty can matter more than principles
- Political rivals question their own power
- Justice divides over order and freedom
- Evidence does not guarantee shared conclusions
- Progress needs a purpose worth pursuing
- Life has worth beyond future improvements
- Greatness raises the cost of inequality
- A better society needs inward change
- Every belief carries a cost
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A Modern Symposium
by Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson · 1905
Thirteen men on a Sussex terrace argue from dinner to dawn about power, property, and how to live.
Challenging2–5 hours to read20 languages
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“Anarchy is not the absence of order but the absence of force.”
In short
What would thirteen clever men say if each had to explain, in one night, what he truly believes about how people should live together? G. Lowes Dickinson sets that question on a terrace in the Sussex hills, among members of a London club called the Seekers.
A Modern Symposium at a glance
- Reading time
- About 2 h 10 min1 h 40 min fast, 2 h 35 min slow
- Length
- 30,700 words
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
- First published
- 1905by Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A Tory confesses prejudice instead of principle
The Seekers meet every other Saturday to hear a paper and argue about it. Tonight the guests move to a terrace above the Sussex Weald, and they find that Cantilupe, who was to read the paper, has brought nothing.
The chairman turns this into a penance. Cantilupe has just retired from public life, so let him explain why he has been a Tory and why he is leaving. Then Remenham, the Liberal prime minister, will answer him, and others will follow.
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Details
- First published
- 1905
- Language
- English
- Level
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Cite this edition
Dickinson, Goldsworthy Lowes. A Modern Symposium. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-modern-symposium.
Dickinson, G. L. (2026). A modern symposium. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-modern-symposium (Original work published 1905)
Dickinson, Goldsworthy Lowes. A Modern Symposium. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-modern-symposium.
@book{dickinson2026modern,
author = {Dickinson, Goldsworthy Lowes},
title = {A Modern Symposium},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-modern-symposium},
note = {First published 1905}
}
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What is A Modern Symposium about?
It records an all-night discussion among members of a club called the Seekers. Thirteen men, including a Tory, a Liberal, a socialist, an anarchist, a poet and a Quaker, each explain how they think society should be run.
Who are the main speakers in A Modern Symposium?
Cantilupe the Tory, Remenham the Liberal prime minister, Mendoza the Conservative leader, Allison the socialist, MacCarthy the anarchist, Martin the skeptic, Wilson the biologist, and Ellis, Audubon, Coryat, Harington, Woodman and Vivian.
Why is the book called a symposium?
The word comes from the Greek for a drinking party where guests talk. Like Plato's Symposium, the book gathers friends who each speak in turn on a large theme, here how people should live together.
The author
Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson
1862–1932 · English historian and political writer
Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson (1862–1932) was a British historian and political writer. He was born in London and studied at King's College, Cambridge, where he later became a fellow and taught history. He wrote A Modern Symposium, published in 1905. He supported the creation of the League of Nations.
“Anarchy is not the absence of order but the absence of force.”
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