A preliminary comparison of the political thought of Locke and Cato

Abstract

This thesis enters into a comparative analysis of four political concepts of Locke, in Two Treatises of Government, and Trenchard and Gordon, in Cato's Letters. The four concepts examined in both works are: the state of nature, property, civil society, and corruption. From a comparative analysis of the parallel concepts of Locke and Cato the underlying principles of the respective political writings emerge. It is found that the underlying principle of Two Treatises of Government is unlimited government, and the underlying principle of Cato's Letters is limited government.