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John Locke
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Locke: Two Treatises of Government (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought) Student ed. Edition, Kindle Edition

by John Locke (Author), Peter Laslett (Editor) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 201 ratings
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This is the revised version of Peter Laslett's acclaimed edition of Two Treatises of Government, which is widely recognised as one of the classic pieces of recent scholarship in the history of ideas, read and used by students of political theory throughout the world. This 1988 edition revises Dr Laslett's second edition (1970) and includes an updated bibliography, a guide to further reading and a fully reset and revised introduction which surveys advances in Locke scholarship since publication of the second edition. In the introduction, Dr Laslett shows that the Two Treatises were not a rationalisation of the events of 1688 but rather a call for a revolution yet to come.
Previous page
  1. ISBN-13
    978-0521354486
  2. Edition
    Student ed.
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Cambridge University Press
  5. Publication date
    October 28, 1988
  6. Language
    English
  7. File size
    1101 KB
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

John Locke laid the groundwork of modern liberalism. He argued that political societies exist to defend the lives, liberties, and properties of their citizens, and that no government has any authority except by the consent of the people. When rulers become tyrants and act against the common good, then the people have a right of revolution against them. Writing against the backdrop of Charles II's savage purge of the Whig movement, Locke set out to attack monarchical absolutism and demolished the intellectual fabric of the divine right of rulers.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00E3UR9Z2
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cambridge University Press; Student ed. edition (October 28, 1988)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 28, 1988
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1101 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Up to 4 simultaneous devices, per publisher limits
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 176 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1453857710
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 201 ratings

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John Locke

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
201 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

B. Tupper
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2015
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I don't know what book Christian Jaros (as several other one-star reviewers) thought he was reviewing. It certainly wasn't this one. For example:

1. "This edition of Locke's masterpiece is filled with flaws. I've noticed these after only a few minutes of inspection: In the first place, It's falsely advertised (the title is TWO Treatises of Government, but it only includes the second)" It includes not only both treatises but also several associated essays. The First Treatise begins on page 141, the Second on page 265.

2. "Second, it's supposed to be Two Treatises of CIVIL Government." The title of the book, listed both on the cover and inside, reads:"Two Treatises of Government." The subtitles of both Treatises read "... of Civil Government."

3. "the format is awkward for a book like this." The format is standard book form with good margins -- near ideal for a book of this type.

4. "There are no footnotes at all (not even translations when Locke cites non-English quotes)." There are footnotes on almost every page, many of them extensive. Titles of cited works are given in their original languages, as they should be, comments drawn therefrom are in English.

5. "there's no introduction." There are more than 130 pages of introduction.

6. "there's almost no publishing information at all." There is a full page of publishing information, more than twice as much as generally appears in books of this type.

7. "there are cheesy advertisements in the back." There are no advertisements anywhere in the book.

8. "And finally, one of those ads has a typo." Ergo, no typo.

It is sad to see such grossly misleading information in reviews -- whether from ignorance or carelessness or malice. The book does very well what it sets out to do. It is presented as a "Student Edition." It is all most serious students would ever need.
22 people found this helpful
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Troy Anderson
5.0 out of 5 stars A source document for the Founding Fathers
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2012
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Wow! Where has this book been hiding? Why isn't the 2nd Treatise required reading in every High School? As I read this book I kept running into familiar phrases and ideas from America's founding era. It completely destroys the credibility of a king (or any politician, even if elected) who claims authority to rule over other people. I especially liked Chapter 2 of the 2nd treatise, only 9 pages, which explains the concept of equality and natural law. We are all born into a state of nature, no one wants to submit his life to another's will, therefore no one should want to impose his will on another, because we are all of the same human nature. It really solidifies the "why" of respect and tolerance for our fellow man. It's a slow, hard read (for me), but well worth it to understand how America, using some simple truths, changed the course of human history. I was patriotic before, but now I know WHY I'm so lucky to be American, I can explain it. I see these ideas in the first 4 sentences of the Declaration of Independence. Please read Chapter 2 (9 pages) of the 2nd Treatise at a library, even if you don't read the whole book.
8 people found this helpful
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Bruce F.
5.0 out of 5 stars The Second Treatise Is Well Worth Reading
Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2022
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This is one of the essential works for understanding the basics of American government.
3 people found this helpful
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Terry G
5.0 out of 5 stars Needed this quick for one of my classes and it ...
Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2018
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Needed this quick for one of my classes and it came with prime shipping saving me from falling behind. Item was just as described.
One person found this helpful
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Ed Barton
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Introduction to Locke
Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2013
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This version of Locke's work has many very solid elements for someone new to the philosophy of liberty. First, the work appears to be fundamentally solid, with well chosen source texts. Second, the introduction and footnotes-which would comprise several hundred pages of text all told - gives the reader new to the philosophy an excellent background and context for the work. Third, the work itself was a seminal component of the American Revolutionary thought and had great influence on the development of the US Constitution and the basis for the Declaration of Independence. Finally, while the text retains many of the 17th century spelling conventions and sentence structure, the actual content is surprisingly approachable for a "heavy" philosopher.

Well worth reading. If the spelling and usage were "translated" into modern English for readability, this would have graded out for 5 stars.
10 people found this helpful
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Thomas M. Carpenter
5.0 out of 5 stars The printing is clean and easy to read
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2018
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The introduction is clear. The printing is clean and easy to read. These are basics when trying to understand centuries old political theses.
One person found this helpful
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Timbo Slice
5.0 out of 5 stars Must read for anyone who wants to talk poltics. ...
Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2015
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Must read for anyone who wants to talk poltics. If you haven't read it, shut up, no one wants to hear your liberal progressive perspective.
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StravGirl
5.0 out of 5 stars Great copy
Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2013
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Great copy of the book--nice quality. As a graduate student, I appreciated the commentary by other authors in the book.
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Top reviews from other countries

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M Clark
3.0 out of 5 stars A disappointment for such a classic text
Reviewed in Germany on May 12, 2018
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This is one of the classic texts of political philosophy and had a great influence on the development of the US political system. I nevertheless found the book disappointing finding that it providing much less than I had expected. In particular, I found Locke's discussion of property to be particularly unconvincing. That said, it is impressive to think that Locke feared imprisonment and even execution as a result of what he wrote.

One surprising aspect of the book was learning how big a role that American Indians played in the thinking of those days about the "natural state" of man. Locke's theories on the emergence of society and government are, however, pure fantasies and are not supported by modern anthropological research. it was tempted to imagine how different this book would have been if it had been written based upon real research rather than his armchair philosophizing. Unfortunately, for our thinking about politics, Locke's origin myths seem to persevere.

The first treatise is essentially a refutation of Sir Filmer's biblical justification of the monarchy and offers little to the modern reader. Despite that, I found it entertaining to see how Locke demolished Filmer's argunements and to identify a few places were Locke even turned snarky. The second treatise is, of course, the meat of what made this work so famous. It is therefore more entertaining and a more useful read.

This particular edition is not recommended for the casual reader since it strives to be more of a scholarly edition. One of the disadvantages is having to put up with 17th century spelling of words. The introduction material is also very dry and targeted more to explain textual issues than to explain the ideas in the work.
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Paul Caden
5.0 out of 5 stars Study book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 9, 2013
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Misses liked this book thanks for the prompt service. I would recommend your services and look forward to using you again.
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Dazzle
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 26, 2016
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Good edition, quality print. Locke is essential reading.
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