Major Works

• Two Treatises of Government

  - Recommended edition: Locke, John. Two Treatises of Government. Edited by Peter Laslett. Melbourne: Cambridge University Press, 1988.
  Excerpt: “Thou hast here the beginning and end of a discourse concerning government; what fate has otherwise disposed of the papers that should have filled up the middle, and were more than all the rest, it is not worth while to tell thee. These, which… More

Commentary

• Revolutionary Politics and Locke’s “Two Treatises of Government”

  - Richard Ashcraft, Revolutionary Politics and Locke’s “Two Treatises of Government” (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1986).
  Richard Ashcraft offers a new interpretation of the political thought of John Locke by viewing his ideas, especially those in the Two Treatises of Government, in the context of his political activity. Linking the implications of Locke’s political… More

• John Locke’s Liberalism

  - Ruth Grant, John Locke’s Liberalism (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987).
  In this work, Ruth W. Grant presents a new approach to John Locke’s familiar works. Taking the unusual step of relating Locke’s Two Treatises to his Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Grant establishes the unity and coherence of… More

• The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution by Bernard Bailyn

  - Bailyn, Bernard. The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1992.
  In The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution, Bernard Bailyn explores how leaders of the American Revolution engaged with the ideas of John Locke, particularly his theories of natural rights, the social contract, and the right of rebellion. Bailyn… More

• John Locke: Resistance, Religion and Responsibility

  - John Marshall, John Locke: Resistance, Religion and Responsibility (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994).
  This book provides a major new historical account of the development of the political, religious, social and moral thought of the political theorist and philosopher John Locke. It offers reinterpretations of several of his most important works, particularly… More

• The Lockean Commonwealth

  - Ross Corbett, The Lockean Commonwealth (Albany: SUNY Press, 2009).
  The tension between executive prerogative in times of emergency and the importance of maintaining and preserving the rule of law has been a perennial concern for modern democratic states. The Lockean Commonwealth reappraises John Locke’s contribution to… More

Multimedia

• Steven Smith: Lectures on the Second Treatise

  - Steven Smith, "Introduction to Political Philosophy," Yale Open Courses, Autumn 2006.
  Professor Steven Smith’s lectures on Locke’s Second Treatise from Yale’s “Introduction to Political Philosophy,” available through Yale Open Courses. Autumn 2006. Constitutional Government: Locke, Second Treatise (1-5)… More