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Lockean

Lockean

1 9.9
A person who follows John Locke's ideas about rights and government
  • noun
  • /ˈlɒkiən/
  • Formal
: lockeano
  • The debate among Lockeans often centers on the role of government in protecting personal liberties.
  • Lockean approaches to copyright
  • Lockean critique

Examples

  • For a variety of reasons, Americans (despite being pretty good Lockeans) decided they could not do without public schools.

    Academic text (2002)
  • Many Lockeans believe that individual rights are fundamental to a just society.

  • The Lockean standard would also better suit the interests of developing peoples.

    Academic text (2005)
  • The original Lockean conception of necessary state action is workable under conditions of a limited state.

    Academic text (2010)
  • Existing intellectual property systems, Gordon argues, give rights in excess of what a Lockean model would justify.

    Academic text (2006)
  • Much has been made of the influence the Lockean idiom of self-government had on the Founders.

    Blog text (17)
  • The Lockean concept of private property erases the labor of the propertyless poor, as Raymond Williams argues.

    Academic text (2017)
  • Other landmark cases applied the Lockean rationale of labor and developed the rule, "as you sow, so shall you reap."

    Academic text (2006)
  • Lockeans repeatedly invoke Locke's natural right philosophy of property in discussions on copyright.

    Academic text (2006)
  • As a Lockean, she values freedom of expression and the right to own property.

Surface Forms

Lockean singular
Lockeans plural

Morphology

Lockean = Locke (transparent) = Locke + an

The noun is formed from the name 'Locke' with the productive suffix '-an' marking a person associated with or related to Locke.

Etymology

Lockean as a noun comes from the name of the English thinker John Locke and the ending -ean, which shows 'connection to' that person. So a Lockean is someone who follows Locke's ideas about individual rights, property, and limited government.