Some questions have been raised in the discussion on my posts on Locke & Catholic political thought about the extent to which Locke’s political theory conforms to or detracts from natural law. This follow-up post, which will be relatively brief, should serve to answer such questions at least in part.
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Uncategorized | Tagged: Aristotle, community of goods, First Treatise, John Locke, Natural Law, Pope Leo XIII, Private Property, Rerum Novarum, Second Treatise, St Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, the politics | 
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Posted by Bonchamps
by Joe Hargrave
In the previous part I showed how Locke’s argument for government by consent was similar to, and may have even been influenced by, that of St. Robert Bellarmine. I also showed how some of the more well-known early-modern political theorists who dreamed of powerful authoritarian regimes also dreamed of obliterating the Church as an obstacle to their fruition. Now I will argue that there is a clear overlap between the political theory of John Locke, and that of Pope Leo XIII, the pope who is responsible for Catholic social teaching as we know it today. In the final part of this series I will address why these overlaps are important, and what they mean in our contemporary political situation.
3 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Catholic Social Teaching, First Treatise, First Treatise of Civil Government, God Locke & Equality, Immortale Dei, Jeremy Waldron, John Locke, Karl Marx, Natural Law, Natural Rights, Peter Laslett, Pope Leo XIII, Private Property, Rerum Novarum, Robert Filmer, Second Treatise, Second treatise of civil government, state of nature, Theories of Surplus Value, Thomas Aquinas | Permalink
Posted by Bonchamps
