The Lockean commonwealth / Ross J. Corbett.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Corbett, Ross J., 1977-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political science.

Locke, John, 1632-1704. Two treatises of government.

Locke, John.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (255 p.)

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, c2009.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

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 this timely topic. By paying careful attention to the arguments put forward in Locke's famous Two Treatises on Government, Ross J. Corbett advances a new interpretation of Locke's political agenda, one that argues that the interplay between "prerogative" and "legislative supremacy" formed the axis around which turned the practical component of Locke's political theory. With a firm grasp of Locke's historical context, Corbett is able to show how Locke's attempts to balance these competing interests provides insight, not only into the development of the liberal democratic state, but also into questions that trouble us to this day and into questions of political life more generally.

Contents:

""Contents""; ""Acknowledgments""; ""Notes Regarding the Texts""; ""Introduction""; ""1. The Condition of Man without Government""; ""The Law of Nature""; ""Inconveniences of the State of Nature""; ""The Rule of Reason""; ""2. The Rule of Law""; ""Individual Consent and Majority Rule""; ""The Principle of Majority Rule""; ""The Limits of Consent and Compulsion""; ""The Meaning and Limits of the Rule of Law""; ""3. Prerogative and the Limits of Legislative Supremacy""; ""The Need for Prerogative""; ""Redefining Prerogative""; ""Beyond Political Society""

""Beyond Obligation, Consent, and the Social Compact"" ""Prerogative and Absolute Monarchy""; ""Judging the Exercise of Prerogative""; ""4. Resistance, Revolution, and the Limits of Politics""; ""Resistance and the Right of Self-Preservation""; ""Locke's Doctrine of Revolution""; ""Difficulties Regarding Revolution""; ""Heaven and a Stable Commonwealth""; ""5. The Lockean Commonwealth""; ""An Outlook, Not a Constitution""; ""The People and Popular Philosophy""; ""6. Justifying Secular Politics""; ""Locke and Religious Toleration""; ""Justifying the Commonwealth""; ""Conclusion""; ""Notes""

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781438427942

1438427948

OCLC:

802047743