About John Locke
English philosopher (1632–1704) who wrote the Second Treatise during the Exclusion Crisis but published it after the Glorious Revolution of 1688, presenting his arguments as retrospective justification for a fait accompli. Locke gave liberalism its foundational vocabulary: natural rights, government by consent, the right to resist tyranny, and property as the extension of labour into the world. His arguments were cited in the American Declaration of Independence and became the primary target of both socialist and conservative critiques of liberal political theory.
Books by John Locke
A Letter Concerning Toleration
A foundational liberal argument for religious toleration and limits on state authority over conscience.
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A foundational liberal argument for natural rights, property, consent, and limited government.
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