Assignment #2

First, read the Declaration of Independence:
http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/freedom/doi/text.html

Next, a close reading of Locke:
[If you are looking for passages to re-read, think about Books 1-5 and 7-9]

Questions for the blog:
How does Locke's conception of political society differ from Plato's? How does the notion of private property relate both to this difference and Locke's political society? What limits does Locke impose upon political society and what are some critiques of these limits?

For everyone to think about:
Where are the parallels between Locke's notion of government and property and the current structure of the American democracy? (Think about the ways in which the private and public have interacted in the most recent Republican and Democratic conventions.)