Customer Reviews

Locke in America: The Moral Philosophy of the Founding Era (American Political Thought (University of Kansas))

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The author does an excellent job in demonstrating the influence of John Locke on the great thinkers who founded America. Backed by an enormous amount of scholarship, and written clearly, this book removes any doubt about the roots of classical American liberalism. The ideas on which "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" are based were derived from the writing of Locke (and others). And ideas move men to action. The Founding Fathers were true believers, and not (as the leftist movement in academia would have us think) merely attempting to justify the economic supremacy of the wealthy class over the masses. Their beliefs stemmed from a long British tradition of freedom in which Locke played a major role. The author argues his case with cool and meticulous logic. "Locke in America" makes a major contribution and is a pleasure to read.

I really got an insight to the way John Locke must have been thinking at the time