John Locke, Closet NeverTrumper? by Mike Sabo

John Locke, Closet NeverTrumper? by Mike Sabo

Hazony argues Locke “asserts that universal reason teaches the same political truths to all human beings.” But he overlooks the crucial caveat that Locke recognizes: while such truths are accessible to anyone capable of reason, not all men have an equal capacity to use their reason. Locke would have thought it preposterous to think that the use of human reason would be widespread throughout a single civil society, much less worldwide. This is why he argued that religion, civil society, and a public sentiment that supports reason are all crucial to the perpetuation of human life. Vague hopes that the proliferation of human reason alone is enough to maintain civil society are folly—and something Locke clearly rejected.

Interesting rebuttal to the Hazony article.