John Locke Quotes


No government allows absolute liberty


Citations

John Locke, Quoted by Margaret Thatcher, 1925-2013, British Prime Minister (Conservative), The Brice Lectures, January 26, 1997

Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations

Related Quotes

This has been one of the fundamental debates in America since its founding. Which is more important, the preservation of civil rights and personal liberty or the supremacy of the law and the stability of our institutions. In war, the tension is always existent. In law enforcement, there is also a common conflict. Prohibition, like the later War on Drugs, was not able to be enforced without the invasion of personal rights. Americans decided that Prohibition benefits were not worth it/ The debate is ongoing with respect to the War on Drugs.


John Locke
John Locke
  • Born: August 29, 1632
  • Died: October 28, 1704
  • Nationality: English
  • Profession: Philosopher

John Locke FRS was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "Father of Liberalism". Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Sir Francis Bacon, Locke is equally important to social contract theory. His work greatly affected the development of epistemology and political philosophy. His writings influenced Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and many Scottish Enlightenment thinkers, as well as the American Revolutionaries. His contributions to classical republicanism and liberal theory are reflected in the United States Declaration of Independence.