SOURCE: "Normative, Descriptive, and Ideological Elements in the Writings of Laski," in Philosophy of Science, April, 1945, pp. 134-45.

In the following essay, Zerby distinguishes between Laski's statements about existing political conditions, and his views of the ideal society.

Laski has been and remains one of the most erudite and influential of the English liberals—indeed, regardless of which of his books the liberal reads, he finishes it with the feeling that Laski is a force for good in political life. However, for the kind of philosopher who is accustomed to make distinctions between morality, ethics, ideology, and descriptive science, there are certain confusions in Laski's writings that give grounds for criticism of both a theoretical and practical nature.

Since this paper will be so largely concerned with the terms "morality," "ethics," and "ideology," and since they are words which are notoriously ambiguous, it should be made clear in...