"The most famous and the most influential of all modern natural right teachers was John Locke." - Leo Strauss
"John Locke has been called America's philosopher, our king in the only way a philosopher has ever been king of a great nation." - Robert A Goldwin

The intent of this review is not to familiarize you with the political philosophy of John Locke, for such a task would require far more than 1,000 words and has already been done elsewhere by others far more qualified than I. This review is for those who have already decided to purchase the Second Treatise but are unaware of the difference between the Peardon (Library of Liberal Arts), Cox (Crofts Classics), and MacPherson (Hackett) editions of the text.

The Cox and MacPherson editions are strikingly similar; however, Cox has taken the liberty of modernizing the text and in the process seems to have misplaced a few words. Peardon, on the other hand, seems to have modernized so much as to have completely lost most of Locke's italicization. So, it is my recommendation to purchase the MacPherson edition. That, or go read the hand-corrected copy of the third printing which is kept in the library of Christ's College, Cambridge University. Unfortunately, the pages in the MacPherson edition are a tad thin, and highlighters seem to leak through the pages. So, if you tend to make good use of highlighers, then you should probably purchase the Cox edition because the library at Christ's College definitely will not allow you to write on their copy.

"The most famous and the most influential of all modern natural right teachers was John Locke." - Leo Strauss
"John Locke has been called America's philosopher, our king in the only way a philosopher has ever been king of a great nation." - Robert A Goldwin

The intent of this review is not to familiarize you with the political philosophy of John Locke, for such a task would require far more than 1,000 words and has already been done elsewhere by others far more qualified than I. This review is for those who have already decided to purchase the Second Treatise but are unaware of the difference between the Peardon (Library of Liberal Arts), Cox (Crofts Classics), and MacPherson (Hackett) editions of the text.

The Cox and MacPherson editions are strikingly similar; however, Cox has taken the liberty of modernizing the text and in the process seems to have misplaced a few words. Peardon, on the other hand, seems to have modernized so much as to have completely lost most of Locke's italicization. So, it is my recommendation to purchase the MacPherson edition. That, or go read the hand-corrected copy of the third printing which is kept in the library of Christ's College, Cambridge University. Unfortunately, the pages in the MacPherson edition are a tad thin, and highlighters seem to leak through the pages. So, if you tend to make good use of highlighers, then you should probably purchase the Cox edition because the library at Christ's College definitely will not allow you to write on their copy.

It is difficult to write a review of the Second Treatise of Government in that it is a book whose central ideas so permeate both British and American thought that no review can do it justice.

Any student of American history, particularly of the revolution and the formation of the Constitution, out of necessity should read this book. It is a book that the revolutionaries themselves were well acquainted with, and formed the rational basis for justifying both the Revolution and the establishment of the Constitution.

Locke is, also, suprisingly easy to read, even today. Cogent, well-formed arguments inform every page of this masterwork. This is a fascinating book that shaped history itself.

In my opinion, this book is just a collection of the four documents that have or do define the pillars that support the foundation of America. The author tries to convey his goal in interpreting these four documents but he does a poor job at making the goal clear. The consequence is that the reader is left to ponder exactly what points are being made throughout. And in the end, the conclusion is effectively meaningless since there was no possibility for the reader to achieve a focus on the gist of what Cox intended. I would not recommend this book unless all you want are these four founding documents under one cover.

The book consists of two parts: Mr. Cox's long introduction, and the texts of four historical documents. The intorduction is not neutral; Mr. Cox attempts to form an argument for modern use of these texts as important legal documents, not merely rhetoric or politics. One may or may not agree with Mr. Cox's propositions, but the fact that he attempts a meaningful study and arguments with these old texts should be applauded. Reading the actual texts contained here may not be exciting per se, but for those interested in law or philosophy, this book is highly valuable. This book provides authentic copies of important historical documents, and presents them in a way which makes them vital and important to modern times.

If the other reviewers are having trouble determining the value of the "Four Pillars" or perhaps Dr. Cox's thesis in general, perhaps they would have received more value out of spending a semester or two in Dr. Cox's classes on "Politics and Rhetoric" and "American Political Thought" while he taught at the University of Buffalo. In those courses he used the excellent book "The Constitution of 1787" to demonstrate the importance of the four most important documents in American political and social life. I found this book to be cogent and a refresher course from my years as a political science student at the University of Buffalo.