Book contents
- Rethinking Liberty before Liberalism
- Rethinking Liberty before Liberalism
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Part I Authors
- 1 Freedom without Republicanism
- 2 Hugo Grotius on Freedom of Will and Self-Government
- 3 Liberty before Licence in Locke
- Part II Hierarchies
- Part III Traditions
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
3 - Liberty before Licence in Locke
from Part I - Authors
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 February 2022
- Rethinking Liberty before Liberalism
- Rethinking Liberty before Liberalism
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Part I Authors
- 1 Freedom without Republicanism
- 2 Hugo Grotius on Freedom of Will and Self-Government
- 3 Liberty before Licence in Locke
- Part II Hierarchies
- Part III Traditions
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
In The Second Treatise of Government, John Locke seems to support what Quentin Skinner identified as the neo-Roman theory of liberty. That is to say, according to Locke, in order to be free, it is not sufficient to be free from constraint or coercion. It also necessary for you to be free of dependency on the will of another person. The sheer fact of absolute monarchy, of ruling by will rather than law, constitutes an act of war, and the people have the right to take up arms against it. However – and here his story becomes strange – Locke also defends prerogative power. That is, he defends the right of the magistrate to exercise their will over and above the rule of law. This chapter will explore this apparent contradiction and try to make sense of it in Locke’s terms. It will conclude that Locke points to an irresolvable tension between the will and the good, and that while the languages of political thought cannot be historically disentangled, they can have distinct and rich philosophical lives.
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- Rethinking Liberty before Liberalism , pp. 60 - 76Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022
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