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Title: Two Treatises of Government (Everyman Paperback Classics) by John Locke, Mark Goldie, John Yolton ISBN: 0-460-87356-3 Publisher: Everymans Library Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.89 (9 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: Long winded and largely out of date
Comment: Locke's "Two Treatises of Government" is altogether a long read. The first treatise is largely a rebuttal to an earlier book by Robert Filmer. It is filled with many biblical references denouncing any connection between the throne and God. In his diatribe he does manage to point out that the bible does not raise man over woman with regards to family. He gets the point across that father and mother are to be honoured and given respect, perhaps a first step on a long road to women's rights.
The second treatise could probably been reduced by a quarter if he would only make a point and move on. Unfortunately he seems to like repeating himself, as if we won't get it the first time. This treatise is the one which has influenced many western governments, the U.S. in particular. Locke, however, like many philosophers of his time, makes his mistake early on in describing humans in a state of nature as mostly solitary and caring only for themselves. This anthropologists now know to be false. We are by nature a social animal living in bands of large extended families. He makes another mistake early on, a mistake that concerns the very foundation of his philosophy when he says that the laws of nature need enforcement. Maybe it's just my modern view of a "law of nature", but I feel that if it needs enforcement it can't be natural. In fact many times when he refers to nature, he gets it wrong.
This said, many of his ideas are good common sense ideas; Like having the government power bounded by agreement, or a constitution; having an independent judiciary; and many of his property rules and how one can defend their property. It even seems like Locke would support Bush in his actions in Afghanistan and Iraq, not for the so called "anti-terrorism" theme, but simply for taking out a tyrant and helping the people install a responsible government of their own.
Rating: 5
Summary: Seminal
Comment: The Treatises of Government, particularly the Second Treatise, are cornerstone works in Western thought. The First Treatise is devoted primarily to demolishing the notion that monarchial rule is divinely sanctioned and is mainly of interest to scholars. The Second Treatise, however, is a fundamental work that can be read profitably by anyone with an interest in philosophy, ethics, and European history. The Second Treatise is relatively short and easy to read. This is the standard edition.
When reading these books, it is important to bear in the mind that one of Locke's aims was to defend the Glorious Revolution which overthrew the Stuart monarchs of Britain. Locke then attempted not only to produce a vigorous attack on traditional justifications for monarchy (the First Treatise) but also a set of positive doctrines (the Second Treatise) which would provide a coherent alternative to the idea of divinely sanctioned monarchial power. The longest, and last, chapter in the Second Treatise is the one in which Locke outlines the circumstances under which governments may be overthrown.
In the Second Treatise, Locke begins implicitly with a view of God as a beneficient Creator who endowed Man with sbustantial rational faculties, intrinsic rights, and dignity. These rational faculties lead to choices that allow the construction of justified and appropriate governments. In terms of rights, the key word is property, by which Locke means not only property in the sense of possessions but also property in themselves, essentially a certain freedom of choice, and what he terms "liberties" or basic human rights. In several important senses, these rights are inalienable. A man may contract with another for use of labor but cannot sell himself into slavery, and others may not deprive men of their property and liberties. Locke follows this line of argument to many important, and in the context of the time, novel conclusions. Slavery is forbidden. Children reaching the age of maturity are equals. Some of Locke's language can be construed as offering some rights to women.
Locke develops an optimistic social contract theory in which men band together to overcome some of the defects of the state of nature. This is the origin of government, which rests on the consent of the governed and is supposed to be in the service of the governed. Locke devotes a fair amount of the Second Treatise to outlining his conception of political power, in many respects a juidicial one, and to a broad discussion of the structure of acceptable governments.
While some important aspects of Locke's scheme, notably his affirmation of a social contract theory as the historical basis for government, are clearly wrong, many of his ideas became fundamental to our present ideas of a justified society. The notions of intrinsic human rights and government depending on consent are essential.
The Second Treatise is a relatively short work and aspects of interpretation are ambiguous. A very good example is the emphasis on property. Locke is regarded commonly, especially by conservative intellectuals, as the defender of private property strictly construed. There is some justification for this interpretation. On the other hand, in the state of nature at any rate, Locke is quite clear that individuals should use only what they need for reasonable subsistence and he is opposed clearly to social dominance in any society. Locke's view of how economic property is created is quite interesting. In the state of nature at least, property is created by the admixture of human labor with the fruits of the earth. This is a labor theory of value and in Locke's case, the value created has not only an economic component but also a moral dimension. The labor theory of value had a distinguished history in early economic thought and ended up being a prominent component of Marxist political theory. This makes Locke not only an ancestor of 19th century laissez-faire theorist but also of their greatest critic, Karl Marx.
Rating: 1
Summary: Two treatise of government
Comment: I think this book is good but it lacks being able to keep my attention and I have read huge books. If it kept my attention for a little bit longer than the first page I would keep reading it.
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Title: Leviathan (Penguin Classics) by Thomas Hobbes, T. Hobbs, C. B. MacPherson ISBN: 0140431950 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: June, 1982 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title: The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Maurice Cranston ISBN: 0140442014 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: June, 1968 List Price(USD): $9.00 |
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Title: The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli ISBN: 0553212788 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 August, 1984 List Price(USD): $4.50 |
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Title: The Marx-Engels Reader by Karl Marx, New York :, Friedrich Selections. English. 1978 Engels, Robert C. Tucker ISBN: 039309040X Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: May, 1978 List Price(USD): $26.30 |
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Title: Wealth of Nations (Great Minds Series) by Adam Smith ISBN: 0879757051 Publisher: Prometheus Books Pub. Date: December, 1991 List Price(USD): $11.00 |
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