The Lockean Theory of Rights (Paperback, 1st Paperback Ed)

John Locke's political theory has been the subject of many detailed treatments by philosophers and political scientists. "The Lockean Theory of Rights" is a systematic, full-length study of Locke's theory of rights and of its potential for making genuine contributions to contemporary debates about rights and their place in political philosophy. The book refers extensively to Locke's published and unpublished works, arguing that they reveal a coherent and sophisticated theory of rights which relies far less directly on his theological foundations than is commonly supposed. In the process, the author reconstructs a Lockean theory of rights and shows how it illuminates many issues in contemporary moral and political philosophy, including the justification of punishment, problems concerning ethical impartialism and familial morality, the basis and extent of property rights, and rights and duties of justice and charity.