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

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 interpret...