Liberty, Governance and Resistance: Competing Discourses in John Locke’s Political Philosophy (Routledge Studies in Social and Political Thought)

John Locke is widely perceived as a foundational figure within the liberal tradition.This book investigates the competing discourses that inform Locke’s political philosophy, each underwritten by a distinct purpose, not all of which result in philosophical outcomes consistent with what we today understand as “liberal” ideals. Locke himself was unaware that he belonged to a “liberal” tradition.Traditions only acquire meaning in retrospect. But many have perceived the development of Locke’s political philosophy as involving a smooth evolution from “authoritarian” origins to “liberal” conclusions, beginning with Locke’s Two Tracts on Government (1660-62) and culminating in his later political works, the Two Treatises of Government (1689) and A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689).This book advances an interpretation of this development which reveals how, from the time of his earliest writings, Locke sought to advance competing discourses within his political philosophy, each reflecting a d