Funny thing, writing article for the NYT, she doesn't mention Locke!
Surprise!
Appraisals of Locke have often been tied to appraisals of liberalism in general, and to appraisals of the United States.
Surprise!
Appraisals of Locke have often been tied to appraisals of liberalism in general, and to appraisals of the United States.
Detractors note that (in 1671) he was a major investor and beneficiary of the English slave-trade through the Royal African Company.
In addition, while secretary to Shaftesbury, Locke participated in drafting the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina, which established a feudal aristocracy and gave masters absolute power over their slaves.
For example, Martin Cohen notes that Locke, as a secretary to the Council of Trade and Plantations (1673–1674) and a member of the Board of Trade (1696–1700), was in fact, "one of just half a dozen men who created and supervised both the colonies and their iniquitous systems of servitude.
Some see his statements on unenclosed property as having been intended to justify the displacement of the Native Americans.[40][41]
Because of his opposition to aristocracy and slavery in his major writings, he is accused of hypocrisy and racism, or of caring only for the liberty of English capitalists.
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