The Empire of Habit : John Locke, Discipline, and the Origins of Liberalism

John Locke's political thought provides much of the theoretical underpinning for our own liberal democracy. According to Locke's liberalism, the rights and freedoms of civil society are grounded in natural law, which is known and observed by all citizens. In this volume, John Baltes challenges this interpretation of Locke. Examining Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding and Some Thoughts Concerning Education , Baltes reveals a Locke who is in conflict with the natural-law philosopher found in his famous Two Treatises of Government . In his works on epistemology and education, Locke describes morality as a construct and human nature as malleable. Drawing on Foucault's concept of discipline, Baltes reconsiders Locke's liberalism and shows that it requires citizens governed not by natural law but habit, that is, subjects who are constructed by carefully controlled space and visibility and regulated in their conduct to become capable of self-government. The Empire of Habit thus offers not only a new reading of one of the most important political philosophers of the Western tradition but also new insight into our own political liberalism. John Baltes is an independent scholar of political theory. Table of Contents Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction Locke on Religious Crisis and Civil War: Nominalism, Skepticism, and the Essay in Context Locke's Inverted Quarantine: Discipline, Panopticism, and the Making of the Liberal Subject Locke's Labor Loosed: Discipline and the Idle Locke the Landgrave: Inegalitarian Discipline Notes Bibliography Index The Empire of Habit critiques the traditional interpretation of Locke's political thought, revealing that the foundation of Lockean liberalism is not natural law but discipline and habit. John Locke's political thought provides much of the theoretical underpinning for our own liberal democracy. According to Locke's liberalism, the rights and freedoms of civil society are grounded in natural law, which is known andobserved by all citizens. In this volume, John Baltes challenges this interpretation of Locke. Examining Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding and Some Thoughts Concerning Education, Baltes reveals aLocke who is in conflict with the natural-law philosopher found in his famous Two Treatises of Government. In his works on epistemology and education, Locke describes morality as a construct and human nature as malleable. Drawing on Foucault's concept of discipline, Baltes reconsiders Locke's liberalism and shows that it requires citizens governed not by natural law but habit, that is, subjects who are constructed by carefully controlled space and visibility and regulated in their conduct to become capable of self-government. The Empire of Habit thus offers not only a new reading of one of the most important political philosophers of the Western tradition but also newinsight into our own political liberalism. John Baltes is an independent scholar of political theory. The Empire of Habit critiques the traditional interpretation of Locke's political thought, revealing that the foundation of Lockean liberalism is not natural law but discipline and habit. John Locke's political thought provides much of the theoretical underpinning for our own liberal democracy. According to Locke's liberalism, the rights and freedoms of civil society are grounded in natural law, which is known and observed by all citizens. In this volume, John Baltes challenges this interpretation of Locke. Examining Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding and Some Thoughts Concerning Education, Baltes reveals a Locke who is in conflict with the natural-law philosopher found in his famous Two Treatises of Government. In his works on epistemology and education, Locke describes morality as a construct and human nature as malleable. Drawing on Foucault's concept of discipline, Baltes reconsiders Locke's liberalism and shows that it requires citizens governed not by natural law but habit, that is, subjects who are constructed by carefully controlled space and visibility and regulated in their conduct to become capable of self-government. The Empire of Habit thus offers not only a new reading of one of the most important political philosophers of the Western tradition but also new insight into our own political liberalism. -- From publisher's website John Locke's political thought provides much of the theoretical underpinning for our own liberal democracy. According to Locke's liberalism, the rights and freedoms of civil society are grounded in natural law, which is known andobserved by all citizens.

In this volume, John Baltes challenges this interpretation of Locke. Examining Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding and Some Thoughts Concerning Education, Baltes reveals aLocke who is in conflict with the natural-law philosopher found in his famous Two Treatises of Government. In his works on epistemology and education, Locke describes morality as a construct and human nature as malleable. Drawing on Foucault's concept of discipline, Baltes reconsiders Locke's liberalism and shows that it requires citizens governed not by natural law but habit, that is, subjects who are constructed by carefully controlled space and visibility and regulated in their conduct to become capable of self-government. The Empire of Habit thus offers not only a new reading of one of the most important political philosophers of the Western tradition but also newinsight into our own political liberalism.

John Baltes is an independent scholar of political theory. Frontcover 1 Contents 6 Acknowledgments 8 Abbreviations 10 Introduction 12 1 Locke on Religious Crisis and Civil War: Nominalism, Skepticism, and the Essay in Context 33 Locke’s Moral Critique 35 Ethical Naturalism and Generous Theism 41 Conclusion: “The Law of Fashion” 51 2 Locke’s Inverted Quarantine: Discipline, Panopticism, and the Making of the Liberal Subject 54 Minds like Brooks 56 Lockean Panopticism 58 Disciplinary Psychology 61 Center and Periphery 66 Conclusion: Sticky Subjects 69 3 Locke’s Labor Loosed: Discipline and the Idle 73 A Plague of Disorder 77 The Religious Context 86 The Plague State 89 Conclusion: Locke’s Labor 97 4 Locke the Landgrave: Inegalitarian Discipline 101 Locke in Context: Shaftesbury’s Pen or Ashcraft’s Radical? 103 Waldron’s Locke 115 The Democratic Intellect 117 Teleology and Equality 120 Conclusion: Locke’s Inegalitarian Discipline 123 Notes 130 Bibliography 156 Index 164