Portrait of John Locke
Center · Thinker or writer · From history

John Locke

English philosopher, 1632 to 1704

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Argued that people hold natural rights to life, liberty and property and that governments rule by consent, ideas that shaped the American and French revolutions.

John Locke sits in the right-libertarian part of the Caucus economy and liberty compass: strongly free market and strongly libertarian. The clearest positions are strongly libertarian on liberty and authority, strongly free market on economy and leaning institutional on institutions. The profile is close to the middle on environment.

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Where John Locke sits on ten dimensions

Each scale runs from one pole to the other, and the dot shows the overall tendency of this person's record and public life. These are simplified estimates and open to debate.

💰EconomyStrongly free market
State-ledFree market
⚖️Liberty and authorityStrongly libertarian
LibertarianAuthoritarian
🎭CultureSlightly traditional
ProgressiveTraditional
🌍NationSlightly nationalist
GlobalistNationalist
🌱EnvironmentCentered on environment
Growth-firstNature-first
🤖TechnologyLeaning tech-optimist
Tech-cautiousTech-optimist
🕊️War and peaceSlightly peace-first
Peace-firstStrength-first
🏛️InstitutionsLeaning institutional
Anti-establishmentInstitutional
🙏ReligionLeaning secular
SecularReligious
🛡️InterventionismSlightly non-interventionist
Non-interventionistInterventionist

People most like John Locke

Montesquieu French political philosopher, 1689 to 175599%Thomas Jefferson US President, 1801 to 180998%Benjamin Franklin American founder, diplomat and inventor, 1706 to 179097%Mario Vargas Llosa Peruvian novelist, 1936 to 202597%Adam Smith Scottish economist and philosopher, 1723 to 179096%Robert Nozick American philosopher, 1938 to 200296%Isaiah Berlin British philosopher and historian, 1909 to 199795%Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya Belarusian opposition leader95%

People furthest from John Locke

Ruhollah Khomeini Supreme Leader of Iran, 1979 to 198914%Benito Mussolini Prime Minister of Italy, 1922 to 194315%Vladimir Lenin Head of the Soviet government, 1917 to 192416%Joseph Stalin Soviet leader, 1920s to 195317%

Political views closest to John Locke

ConstitutionalismHolds that power should be limited by a written constitution, independent courts and…98%Classical liberalismIndividual rights, limited government, free markets and the rule of law.97%Civic republicanismValues citizen participation, civic virtue and freedom from domination, and often…97%Liberal nationalismHolds that nations have a right to self-government and a shared identity, provided they…95%

Read more about John Locke

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Biographies of John LockeBooks on constitutionalism

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Percentages show how close two profiles are across all ten dimensions. Including a person here is for study and comparison, not approval. Portrait: Godfrey Kneller, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; see all photo credits.