About the author
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.
Synopsis
A classic defense of political authority based on natural rights, consent, property, and the right to resist tyranny.
Quote to notice
Direct quote · Public domain“Men being, as has been said, by nature, all free, equal, and independent.”
This is one of the roots of liberal political thought: legitimate government begins from free and equal individuals, not inherited rule.
To avoid a bubble
Pair with Rousseau, Marx, or conservative critiques of rights-based liberalism.
Reading note
Essential for understanding liberalism, property rights, consent, and constitutional government.
Best paired with
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract.