Buy new:
$18.00
FREE delivery Thursday, May 16 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Ships from: Amazon.com
Sold by: Amazon.com
$18.00
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Thursday, May 16 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35. Order within 12 hrs 25 mins
In Stock
$$18.00 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$18.00
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
30-day easy returns
30-day easy returns
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Returns
30-day easy returns
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$13.46
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
Some signs of wear. All pages and cover are intact (including the dust cover, if applicable). Spine may show signs of wear. May have been a former library book with associated markings. Some signs of wear. All pages and cover are intact (including the dust cover, if applicable). Spine may show signs of wear. May have been a former library book with associated markings. See less
FREE delivery Thursday, May 16 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35. Order within 12 hrs 25 mins
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$18.00 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$18.00
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

John Locke
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Locke: Political Writings (Hackett Classics) UK ed. Edition

by John Locke (Author), David Wootton (Editor)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 84 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$18.00","priceAmount":18.00,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"18","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"00","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"3k%2B3zwQ6cuCjNWvS4RAtiHaOthu7t5r3ymvB2paNPQEZcYW8TkC4LYStIaEVr6mjmeEhtP%2FZghGi2LgwUtMUwILJkm5%2B4fvPrUXNoIx%2BX7zUuWuALshWp2ThNzT9jIAvvePQQJ3NAjY%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$13.46","priceAmount":13.46,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"13","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"46","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"3k%2B3zwQ6cuCjNWvS4RAtiHaOthu7t5r34BEfA%2BPbJHfp9ZDKFKRGB%2BDDFlOeKFvbSED0MmNFmF87UU%2BQ9IQi4DeRcDkK%2BQeRNhWIswzhLyoPOsGA2W8PCtgFbnXF5ijkRU6GtBhbkX4L3ekBmLdwOVWAW6AHD%2BL%2FlGZ8dBIaR7XM%2FzSscyZDVHkGSUq4aGbd","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

John Locke's Second Treatise of Government (c. 1681) is perhaps the key founding liberal text. A Letter Concerning Toleration, written in 1685 (a year when a Catholic monarch came to the throne of England and Louis XVI unleashed a reign of terror against Protestants in France), is a classic defense of religious freedom. Yet many of Locke's other writings--not least the Constitutions of Carolina, which he helped draft--are almost defiantly anti-liberal in outlook.

This comprehensive collection brings together the main published works (excluding polemical attacks on other people's views) with the most important surviving evidence from among Locke’s papers relating to his political philosophy. David Wootton's wide-ranging and scholarly Introduction sets the writings in the context of their time, examines Locke's developing ideas and unorthodox Christianity, and analyzes his main arguments. The result is the first fully rounded picture of Locke’s political thought in his own words.

Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. ISBN-10
    0872206769
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0872206762
  3. Edition
    UK ed.
  4. Publisher
    Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.
  5. Publication date
    March 15, 2003
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    5.5 x 1.25 x 12.25 inches
  8. Print length
    496 pages
  9. See all details
Next page
Amazon First Reads | Editors' picks at exclusive prices

Frequently bought together

Locke: Political Writings (Hackett Classics)
$18.00
Get it as soon as Thursday, May 16
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
Crime and Punishment (Vintage Classics)
$13.96
Get it as soon as Thursday, May 16
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
Discourse on the Origin of Inequality (Hackett Classics)
$10.00
Get it as soon as Thursday, May 16
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David Wootton is Anniversary Professor of History, University of York.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.; UK ed. edition (March 15, 2003)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 496 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0872206769
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0872206762
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1.25 x 12.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 84 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
John Locke

John Locke

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
84 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Bazza
5.0 out of 5 stars Locke: the first liberal, you decide
Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2014
Verified Purchase
A very nice gathering of the works of the, widely acknowledged, father of modern liberalism. Some of Locke's writings might lead the reader to wonder about this. Overall, a great read.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
C. Silvey
5.0 out of 5 stars Good to have around!
Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2016
Verified Purchase
Another stepping stone book to have around if you're into political science!
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Manny152
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent complication !!
Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2013
Verified Purchase
Excellent compilation of John Locke's political writings. I enjoyed re-reading Locke's classic liberal political philosophy and grappling with its significance on American Political Thought..
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Rowland Nelken
5.0 out of 5 stars A 'modern' man of the late 17th century
Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2010
Once I became used to the very long sentences I found this book a delight. In 21st century England we have long been used to religion being confined to the personal sphere, notwithstanding the Lords Spiritual, the Queen as Head of the Church and a tiny, disaffected minority that would see our country take its place in a Global Caliphate. In both his Treatises on Government, as well as in his Essay on Toleration, Locke seeks to demolish many barriers, then still standing, against freedom of custom in forms of worship and freedom of conscience in belief. Such was the atmosphere in the late 17th century. The place of God in our Constitution had been a crucial issue in the blood soaked Civil War which had been the backdrop to Locke's childhood. He was sixteen years old when the Prot./Cat. Thirty Years War drew to a close.

Locke's burial of the notion of the divine right of kings, and his acknowledgement that rulers can only rule legitimately with their people's consent may make him sound like a pioneer of liberalism, or even a visionary of our modern age. He is, however, very much a man of his time. Indeed that is the attraction of this book. The comments of a 17th century man from a 17th century perspective bring the period to life in a way that would tax the skills of a 21st century historian. Consciously or no, historians will have their own agenda.

'Liberal' is a relative term. Locke would outlaw atheists; he was convinced that morality was impossible without a belief on God. 'Mahomedans', whose loyalty would, with their essentially political faith, be to the Ottoman Sultan and Caliph, could not possibly be subjects of the English crown. Regarding the early development of human societies, polities and nations, Locke was writing prior to the development of anthropology and sociology, and 200 years befroe Darwin wrote 'The Descent of Man'. His conjectures, therefore, on primitive societies, appear, quite naturally 'primitive'.

In other ways Locke appears prescient. One hundred years before Adam Smith he attempts an explanation of the laws of supply and demand. 200 years before Marx he outlines his own 'labour theory of value'. He proposes what we would now call 'workhouses' as a a remedy for beggary and paupery. His grand scheme for eradicating poverty might read, at first sight, like an early version of Thomas Paine's 'Rights of Man'. Unlike Paine, however, who envisioned a state education system providing universal literacy, Locke would have the poor children set to work in the textile industry.

And finally; for South Carolina he proposed a constitution definitely aristocratic, if not feudal, and for England he recommends that the Act of Queen Elizabeth's day whereby unlicensed beggars would have their ears cut off, should be enforced with full rigour.

The seeds of modern England can be seen in this selection of Locke's writings, but whatever his influence, our country has changed in ways that Locke would find inconceivable.
11 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
kitty
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2015
new
Helpful
 Report
malachi
3.0 out of 5 stars Philosophy book
Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2024
Verified Purchase
I used this a lot for class. Quality is good, the pages flip nicely. The pages also smell nice to the nose. No missing pages. Cover looks taken care of
Helpful
 Report
Amber
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Book
Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2013
Verified Purchase
The book was interesting, but the author defiantly likes to contradict himself and jump around a lot which makes it a harder book to keep interested in and actually understand. I used sparknotes to help me interpret exactly what the author was talking about. I liked reading about the ideas that helped shape our Declaration of Independence.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
PIA
2.0 out of 5 stars Obtuse and meandering
Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2017
Verified Purchase
After having read so much of how John Locke influenced our Founding Fathers, I found this very difficult to read. Frankly, I could get through less than half. It just did not seem to get to the point; talked in circles and almost seemed to avoid getting down to what I considered the "nittygritty". I am not sure exactly what I was looking for, but this book did not answer my questions.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing
Reviewed in Canada on May 31, 2020
Verified Purchase
Had to buy this book for class. I’ve read it two extra times because I think it’s very interesting and accurate
Report
Jei
5.0 out of 5 stars Very good read
Reviewed in Canada on August 17, 2020
Verified Purchase
used it for my course readings.
One person found this helpful
 Report
RSimmon07
4.0 out of 5 stars Helped me get an 82 in my political theory class ...
Reviewed in Canada on May 28, 2016
Verified Purchase
Helped me get an 82 in my political theory class. For those that don't know, his writings influenced the ideals during the formation of the United States.
One person found this helpful
 Report