# The Role of the State and Authority in Culture and Anarchy

> Theme guide for Culture and Anarchy by Matthew Arnold.

Arnold advocates for a strong, centralized State as the expression of the nation's 'best self,' capable of maintaining order and promoting culture, in contrast to the English suspicion of state power and preference for individual liberty.

## Where it surfaces

- [Doing as One Likes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/culture_and_anarchy_se/chapters/ii-doing-as-one-likes): The need for a State embodying the nation's right reason to counter anarchy.
- [Chapter I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/culture_and_anarchy_se/chapters/i): The chapter examines the legitimacy of state-established churches versus private religious worship, advocating for national, public establishments as more conducive to collective worship and social cohesion.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/culture_and_anarchy_se/themes/state_and_authority
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/culture_and_anarchy_se/themes