Mary-Elaine Swanson’s book John Locke: Philosopher of
American Liberty is not light reading.
It is a scholarly work about the life and influence of the 17th
century philosopher. It’s not for
everybody. But for those of us whom it is
for, it is wonderful.
Swanson begins by telling about Locke’s life, mostly through
the words of his companions. Then she
shows how Locke’s thoughts and writings were instrumental in the Glorious
Revolution in England in the late 1600s.
Next comes a great comparison of the American and French Revolutions in
terms of the philosophies behind them:
the American Revolution being based directly on Locke’s ideas . . . and
its French counterpart using a perverted twisting of them. She closes the book with an analysis of how
America currently seems to be headed away from our Revolutionary roots and
toward the path of the failed French philosophy.
This is a historical work, meant for historical study. One doesn’t read this book to get a general
idea of the ideas and thoughts behind these great movements of world
history. One reads this book to
understand what influenced these ideas in their formation, how they were
communicated person to person, how they were adopted and rejected by various
people in positions of influence, and how they have been misinterpreted and
misappropriated over the years. Swanson
is trying to get at the original Locke and his original thoughts, defending him
from the accusation that his political philosophy was rooted in godless
rationalism.
If you are concerned about the direction of our country
today, and you have the time and inclination to examine the philosophical basis
of it, this is a great book to get you started. You can order it here at Amazon.
I received this book free from the publisher through the BookCrash.com book review program, which requires an honest, though not necessarily positive, review. The opinions I have expressed are my own
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