Taylor’s Guild State is at once an inspiring vindication of the social principles of the Middle Ages as found in the guild system and a clarion call for their implementation in our society. Capturing the essence of guild organization as it existed centuries ago and as it can be profitably applied today, Taylor also highlights the key features of the guilds, which offer the modern world both a credible economic alternative to the failures of Left and Right, and an unparalleled tool for social regeneration. Taylor’s sketch is also useful in helping us to understand how a modern guild system might be applied to current societal ills such as unemployment, absentee corporate ownership, and employee disenfranchisement.
Publisher’s Preface —The Publishers
Foreword —Roger McCain, Ph.D.
Introduction —Anthony Cooney
Preface —G. R. Stirling Taylor
I. The Historical Basis of the Guild System
II. The First Principle: Organization by Function
III. The Second Principle: Self-Management
IV. The Third Principle: Decentralization and Small Units
V. Consequent Results of Main Principles
VI. Relations Between Guilds and State
VII. A Guildsman’s Philosophy of Life
