John Locke was born in England in 1632. He is said to be one of the founders of political liberalism and a key figure in the Age of Enlightenment. He was also a physician so he advocated empiricism over mysticism, facts over conjecture, democracy over tyranny, and whiskey over beer. Many of his ideas were incorporated into the constitution of the USA.
Michael Jackson was born on this day in 1958. He was a noted singer and dancer and very strange person. His political philosophy was much like Locke's insofar as Jackson favored the pursuit of happiness, although he was a kind of forlorn character.
I've been reading a book called Nature's Mutiny by Philipp Blom, about the so-called little ice age of the 16th and 17th centuries. He argues that the changes wrought by that century-long cold snap in Europe helped shape economics and politics for centuries thereafter. Locke figures prominently in the story. It seems Locke fell in with a group whose goal was to weaken the power of King Charles II. Charles' people didn't appreciate that, so Locke had to flee to Amsterdam for a decade or so.
Locke's theses on political power and corruption may have been the inspiration for Mr. Jackson's anti-establishment musical essay "Smooth Criminal."
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