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.