Projects per year
Abstract
This essay argues that many modern discussions of Locke’s political theory
are unconsciously shaped by an imaginative picture of the world inherited
from the past, on which authority and freedom are fundamentally antipathetic.
The consequences of this picture may be seen in the distinction
made customarily in Locke studies between the ‘authoritarian’ Locke of Two
Tracts on Government, for whom authority descends from God, and the later,
‘liberal,’ Locke, for whom authority arises from the will and agreement of
individuals, and felt in the emphases placed on consent and resistance in
most interpretations of Lockean political thought. The essay examines the
composition and contours of this picture and, by holding up a mirror to
contemporary Locke scholarship, draws attention to some of the ways in
which it unwittingly distorts Locke’s thinking.
are unconsciously shaped by an imaginative picture of the world inherited
from the past, on which authority and freedom are fundamentally antipathetic.
The consequences of this picture may be seen in the distinction
made customarily in Locke studies between the ‘authoritarian’ Locke of Two
Tracts on Government, for whom authority descends from God, and the later,
‘liberal,’ Locke, for whom authority arises from the will and agreement of
individuals, and felt in the emphases placed on consent and resistance in
most interpretations of Lockean political thought. The essay examines the
composition and contours of this picture and, by holding up a mirror to
contemporary Locke scholarship, draws attention to some of the ways in
which it unwittingly distorts Locke’s thinking.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 6-30 |
| Number of pages | 25 |
| Journal | Political Theory |
| Volume | 39 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 25 Oct 2010 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Feb 2011 |
Keywords
- authority
- freedom
- Locke
- liberalism
- consent
- resistance
Projects
- 1 Finished