{"product_id":"9781580465618","title":"The Empire of Habit: John Locke, Discipline, and the Origins of Liberalism","description":"\u003cp\u003eJohn 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this volume, John Baltes challenges this interpretation of Locke. Examining Locke's \u003ci\u003eEssay Concerning Human Understanding\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eSome Thoughts Concerning Education\u003c\/i\u003e, Baltes reveals a Locke who is in conflict with the natural-law philosopher found in his famous \u003ci\u003eTwo Treatises of Government\u003c\/i\u003e. 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. \u003ci\u003eThe Empire of Habit\u003c\/i\u003e 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. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJohn Baltes is an independent scholar of political theory.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"University of Rochester Press, The","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47036303081712,"sku":"9781580465618","price":70.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781580465618_p0.jpg?v=1763782827","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781580465618","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}