[bourbon]

It was always pretty clear that Strauss abhorred Locke.

I wouldn't go so far as to say Strauss "abhorred" Locke. I think Strauss reserves his harshest treatment for the other contract theorists, particularly Hobbes (whom he called the progenitor of "political hedonism" and a "political atheist") and Rousseau. Locke gets short shrift by comparison.

[x]

I wouldn't go so far as to say Strauss "abhorred" Locke. I think Strauss reserves his harshest treatment for the other contract theorists, particularly Hobbes (whom he called the progenitor of "political hedonism" and a "political atheist") and Rousseau. Locke gets short shrift by comparison.

Thanks for the correction. What led me astray was that his views on Locke have created so much more controversy than his readings fo the other thinkers you mention.