God, Locke, and Equality: Christian Foundations in Locke's Political Thought

by Jeremy Waldron

Jeremy Waldron, one of the leading political philosophers of our time, looks at the principle of equality in the thought of John Locke, and the extent to which this is grounded in Christian principles. Throughout the text, Waldron discusses contemporary approaches to equality and rival interpretations of Locke, making his book unusually accessible and intellectually exciting. It will be of interest to philosophers, political theorists, lawyers and theologians around the world. Jeremy Waldron is the Maurice and Hilda Friedman Professor at Columbia Law School and Director of Columbia's Center for Law and Philosophy. Waldron has taught and lectured at UC Berkeley, Princeton University, Edinburgh University, Oxford University and Cambridge University. His books include The Dignity of Legislation (Cambridge, 1999), The Right to Private Property (Oxford, 1988) and The Law (Routledge, 1990). Waldron contributes to the London Review of Books and the New York Times Book Review.

Genres: Philosophy

276 pages, Paperback

First published November 13, 1998

Reviews

[Samuel Weiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Waldron persuasively argues that Locke's Christianity is integral to his political thought. This is because Locke's Christian premises are essential for the soundness of his arguments. This opposes the standard interpretation of Locke which claims that Locke's arguments can be reformulated so that they can stand on secular grounds. In particular, Locke's belief in the moral equality of all humans, which is foundational to the rest of his political thought, cannot be divorced from his Christian worldview. This is interesting since, although almost all people in Western liberal societies believe in moral equality, no secular attempt at justifying this belief has so far been successful. In making this argument, Waldron clears up some confusions and misinterpretations of Locke, with particular ire being directed at CB MacPherson.
The book was initially a set of lectures, so the writing isn't as tight as one would expect from a scholary book.