Social Contract Theorists Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau have many ideas in common, but like anyone else they disagree on quite a few things. In some writings one political philosopher will argue against another philosopher and in another writing they will be using another philosopher's argument ...

To understand classic liberalism we must focus on Locke's idea of political power and his political model as well as his economic model. Locke defines political power as " a right of making laws with penalties of Death, and consequently all less penalties, for regulating and preserving property,...

IntroductionEDWARD B. MCLEANWestern man's pursuit of liberty has been constant. Indeed, the concept of liberty is central to Western political thought and history. The following essays, which were the first of the Goodrich Lecture Series at Wabash College, examine the concept of liberty as it has be...