John Locke's Two Treatises of Government: New Interpretations

249 Pages·1992·15.059 MB·English

by  Edward J. Harpham

John Locke’s Two
Treatises of Government
New Interpretations
EDITED BY EDWARD J. HARPHAM
2 nA |}
Jeo LT
TG/3
MACK LIBRARY
BOS JONES UNIVERSITY
GREENVILLE, SC
ec, PRESS OF KANSAS
S44 15092
© 1992 by the University Press of Kansas
All rights reserved
Published by the University Press of Kansas (Lawrence, Kansas 66049), which was
organized by the Kansas Board of Regents and is operated and funded by Emporia
State University, Fort Hays State University, Kansas State University, Pittsburg
State University, the University of Kansas, and Wichita State University
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
John Locke’s Two treatises of government : new interpretations /
edited by Edward J. Harpham.
Ds) cm:
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 0-7006-0506-1 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Locke, John, 1632-1704. Two treatises of government.
2. Locke, John, 1632—1704—Contributions in political science.
I. Harpham, Edward J.
JC153-L83J65 1992
320’.01'—dc20 QI—-27641
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available.
Printed in the United States of America
10987654321
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the
American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials
Z39.48-1984. 1p
% 1) ) / /
DP PLE é i
/
To Wendy
. ae aun serabernits, 9 cribs
t “s< ontedebes ae an aE a
7 ‘5 2 fei e ee ~~
= ( gece SagD aoH eo BO win “iter
y; ewe ¥3L* aine
; “<the Uieglae’s Tovsqeend. Tee 2 om ice a
a sew) veyaee. ; 4 ’ nea
. ea. y* ; sat
abide. tbh attic piace ia ag ot ve
| Lat ped eoA . : thanbase eh, ceed! ec
bog ke, Gity, otin-orea- Tes wien. «eae. the
they BAA, 161g Conese nica hit Peale ne :
i Nite, ReaD” = va
ots bok ais ite ~ es
hs a
be peel
eine =o ‘ x
bo (eh Hearne conRierrasia Wu iwter ‘ue «epee, ’ aie®
at Seale Sigel ealaeen a Raianr eg, yo ee
—e. 4 a I | 1 “a j
ot eegia hee 4, af ‘ciiigiadealeaee ;2
SS.
at Whe, tea pndP ear Peering oh PReey ae Shanta
i Me : *
~ : — 6
| =
+ 2
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS / ix
ABBREVIATIONS FOR WORKS BY JOHN LOCKE / Xi
1 Locke’s Two Treatises in Perspective, EDWARD J. HARPHAM / 1
2 The Politics of Locke’s Two Treatises of Government,
RICHARD ASHCRAFT / 14
3 Religion and Locke’s Two Treatises of Government,
ELDON EISENACH / 50
4 Rationality and:the Two Treatises, DAVID RESNICK | 82
5 The Economic Background to Locke’s Two Treatises of Government,
KAREN IVERSEN VAUGHN / I18
6 Cato’s Letters, John Locke, and the Republican Paradigm,
RONALD HAMOWY / 148
7 Locke’s Two Treatises and Contemporary Thought: Freedom,
Community, and the Liberal Tradition, sTEPHEN L. NEWMAN / 173
BIBLIOGRAPHY / 209
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS / 231
INDEX / 233
rel 7M L y,
seroma
net wl i ot
Acknowledgments
A book like this has many friends who nurtured it from an idea to a
working draft to a bound manuscript. Among this book’s best friends are
William Dennis and his associates of the Liberty Fund, who sponsored a
1988 symposium on Locke’s Two Treatises in Dallas, Texas, for which
these essays were originally commissioned. Participants at the sym-
posium furnished valuable input on each of the essays. Sheryl Young
helped make the symposium, and ultimately the conversation about the
papers, work.
Other friends include Donald Dixon, Marilyn Herrick, and Peggy Ellis,
who spent long hours proofing the text and researching the bibliography.
Few political economists have been forced to read about Locke’s Two
Treatises as closely as these three. The book benefited greatly from their
work and suggestions.
Ronald Terchek and Ruth Grant read the text in its entirety and fur-
nished insightful comments on how to tighten up arguments both within
and across the essays.
Gizelle Nunez, Donna Lamarita, Elvie Newbern, Cynthia Keheley, and
Evelyn Stutts provided technical assistance in converting the essays into
a common word-processing format. Retyping six lengthy essays on John
Locke with extensive quotes from seventeenth-century English is a trying
task at best. Their accuracy and good spirits through the entire project
were deeply appreciated.
Michael Briggs of the University Press of Kansas was a good friend of the
book from the outset. His support, patience, and understanding were
deeply appreciated.
Perhaps the best friends of this book were three who were willing to
obey the rules of justice and leave Daddy alone when he was in the study
working on his book. But while Rebecca, Jessica, and William Harpham
may be the book’s best friends, Wendy Harpham remains the editor’s. The
book is dedicated to her.
Scania eee |
rt er ae char: Sadlaie
‘ibe, TST
cites veces via he
STS 2 RiT elbed gz
tye ipiics adrd qsinde ethage Satie
vitf ol anai? borg» mawe slgaadtl ew aa ete
cae Sythe wiley hee sanaike none adda")
rte)
ny yelibe ceva? yelw Sandy stoi aaa alt fi
eee
UlLi gahott) at AoMe ENAh oconaet ye eatartias bebtea e9 naPdTe eae MAT eA) aD
6 : re
Abbreviations for Works
by John Locke
Correspondence The Correspondence of John Locke. Ed. E. S. De Beer.
8 vols. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1976-85.
ECHU Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Ed. Peter
Nidditch. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1975.
ELN Essays on the Law of Nature. Ed. W. von Leyden.
Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1954.
FT or ST Respectively First Treatise or Second Treatise in
Two Treatises of Government. Rev. ed. Introduction
and notes by Peter Laslett. New York: Mentor Books,
1965. Citations refer to paragraph numbers (no.). The
1965 Mentor edition of the Laslett text is a reprint of
an edition of the Two Treatises originally published
by Cambridge University Press in 1960 and reprinted
with amendments in 1963. A second reprint with
amendments was published in 1964. A second edition
published in 1967 was reprinted with amendments in
1970. A student edition, published for the Cambridge
Texts in the History of Political Thought series in
1988, contains some important updating in the intro-
duction, the text, and the accompanying footnotes.
MS Locke MS. Bodleian Library, Oxford University.
RC The Reasonableness of Christianity. In The Works of
John Locke in Ten Volumes. Vol. 7. London: T. Tegg,
1823.
1667 Essay An Essay Concerning Toleration. In H. R. Fox
Bourne’s The Life of John Locke. Vol. 1. London: H. S.
King, 1876.
Xll / ABBREVIATIONS
SC Some Considerations of the Consequences of Lower-
ing of Interest and Raising the Value of Money. Lon-
don: 1692. Reprinted in Several Papers Relating to
Money, Interest and Trade (1696). New York: Au-
gustus M. Kelly, -1968.
STCE Some Thoughts Concerning Education. In The Edu-
cational Writings of John Locke. Ed. James L. Axtell.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1968.
DP Two Tracts on Government. Ed. Philip Abrams.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1967.
Works 1823 The Works of John Locke in Ten Volumes. London: T.
Tegg, 1823.
Works 1824 The Works of John Locke. 12th ed., 9 vols. London: C.
and J. Rivington, 1824.