the john locke institute essay competition

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John Locke Institute Essay Competition: All You Need to Know

By Eric Eng

The philosopher John Locke left a big mark with his ideas. His work has inspired people to think about how we’re governed, our freedoms, and what role the state should play. The John Locke Institute Essay Competition keeps his ideas alive by inviting young minds to think about how his ideas relate to today’s world.

Let’s talk about the John Locke Institute Essay Competition. We’ll give you an overview of the rules and share some helpful tips to craft a winning essay. This comprehensive guide will help you make your essay submission shine.

What Is the John Locke Institute Essay Competition?

The John Locke Institute Essay Competition—also called the John Locke Institute’s Global Essay Prize—is a yearly event hosted by the John Locke Institute , an organization passionate about encouraging young people to excel academically and enjoy learning. Named after the famous English philosopher John Locke, it aims to honor his legacy by inspiring young students to think deeply and critically.

Students from anywhere in the world can enter by writing an essay on topics like politics , economics , philosophy , and history . You can pick from a wide range of topics for your essay, so you can write about what you’re really interested in and show off how curious you are. A group of experts will read all the essays and pick winners based on how original, well thought out, and clear they are.

If you win, you’ll get a scholarship and your work will get published on the John Locke Institute’s website, which is a big deal for your academic record.

What Are the John Locke Institute Essay Competition’s Prizes?

If you win in any subject category or the Junior category of the John Locke Institute Essay Competition, you’ll get a US$2000 scholarship. This scholarship can be used for any program offered by the John Locke Institute, and your winning essay will be published on the Institute’s website.

Plus, if you’re chosen as the overall best essay writer, you’ll become an honorary John Locke Institute Junior Fellow. This includes a US$10,000 scholarship for participating in the Institute’s summer schools or visiting scholars programs.

The prize-giving ceremonies take place in London, where you’ll have the chance to meet judges and faculty members. And whether you win a prize or not, if you’re short-listed, you’ll receive an eCertificate to recognize your achievement.

What Are the John Locke Institute Essay Competition’s Guidelines?

If you’re thinking about joining the John Locke Institute Essay Competition, it’s important to know the rules. Here’s a handy guide to get you started:

Eligibility

Students from any country and school can take part. There are two levels: one for high schoolers aged 15 to 18, and the Junior Prize for middle schoolers aged 14 and under.

There are seven categories to choose from: Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology, and Law. Each category has its own set of questions (listed in the next section).

Essay format

Your essay should only answer one question from your chosen category. It should be no more than 2000 words, not counting diagrams, tables, bibliography, or authorship declaration. Don’t include footnotes, but you can have endnotes and a bibliography.

Your essay needs to be in PDF format and follow the filename format: FirstName-LastName-Category-QuestionNumber.pdf. Example: John-Locke-Economics-1.pdf.

Registration starts on April 1, 2024, and ends on May 31, 2024. Essays must be submitted by June 30, 2024.

You’ll find out if you’re short-listed by July 31, 2024. The academic conference is scheduled for September 20-22, 2024, and the awards night is on September 21, 2024.

Other requirements

There’s no submission fee. It’s free for everyone.

You’ll also need to provide the email address of an academic referee who knows your academic work well. They can be a teacher or another adult who’s not related to you. The institute will email them to verify that your essay is your own work.

If you have any questions, you can email [email protected] . Don’t forget to read through these guidelines carefully before submitting your essay.

John Locke Institute Essay Competition: Topics

Now that you’re familiar with the contest guidelines, it’s time to choose a topic for your essay . Here are the topics you can choose from, organized by category and question number. Remember to use the category and question number in titling the file you will submit:

• Q1. Do we have any good reasons to trust our moral intuition?
• Q2. Do girls have a (moral) right to compete in sporting contests that exclude boys?
• Q3. Should I be held responsible for what I believe?
• Q1. Is there such a thing as too much democracy?
• Q2. Is peace in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip possible?
• Q3. When is compliance complicity?
• Q1. What is the optimal global population?
• Q2. Accurate news reporting is a public good. Does it follow that news agencies should be funded from taxation?
• Q3. Do successful business people benefit others when making their money, when spending it, both, or neither?
• Q1. Why was sustained economic growth so rare before the later 18th century and why did this change?
• Q2. Has music ever significantly changed the course of history?
• Q3. Why do civilisations collapse? Is our civilisation in danger?
• Q1. When, if ever, should a company be permitted to refuse to do business with a person because of that person’s public statements?
• Q2. In the last five years British police have arrested several thousand people for things they posted on social media. Is the UK becoming a police state?
• Q3. Your parents say that 11pm is your bedtime. But they don’t punish you if you don’t go to bed by 11pm. Is 11pm really your bedtime?
• Q1. According to a study by researchers at four British universities, for each 15-point increase in IQ, the likelihood of getting married increases by around 35% for a man but decreases by around 58% for a woman. Why?
• ​Q2. There is an unprecedented epidemic of depression and anxiety among young people. Can we fix this? How?
• Q3. What is the difference between a psychiatric illness and a character flaw?
• Q1. “I am not religious, but I am spiritual.” What could the speaker mean by “spiritual”?
• Q2. Is it reasonable to thank God for protection from some natural harm if He is responsible for causing the harm?
• Q3. Does God reward those who believe in him? If so, why?

Junior Prize

• Q1. Does winning a free and fair election automatically confer a mandate for governing?
• Q2. Has the anti-racism movement reduced racism?
• Q3. Is there life after death?
• Q4. How did it happen that governments came to own and run most high schools, while leaving food production to private enterprise ?
• Q5. When will advancing technology make most of us unemployable? What should we do about this?
• Q6. Should we trust fourteen-year-olds to make decisions about their own bodies?

John Locke Institute Essay Competition: Writing Tips

The contest website states: “The John Locke Institute encourages young people to cultivate the characteristics that turn good students into great writers: independent thought, depth of knowledge, clear reasoning, critical analysis, and persuasive style .”

Let’s zoom in on the five main things they’re after:

1. Independent thought

Independent thought means coming up with your own ideas that challenge the status quo or offer unique insights. Don’t just analyze existing literature. Try to bring new perspectives or suggest innovative solutions to complex problems.

For example, in the Philosophy category, instead of just discussing whether girls should be allowed to compete in sports that exclude boys, you could explore deeper ethical principles. This might involve thinking about fairness and equal opportunity, or looking at how gender segregation in sports affects society.

2. Depth of knowledge

Having a deep understanding is super important for nailing the John Locke Institute Essay Competition. Know the key concepts, theories, and historical contexts of your topic. This could also mean checking out different views on historical events, analyzing primary sources, or considering other theories. You should be able to analyze information effectively, making connections and spotting patterns that deepen your understanding.

In the History category, for example, if you’re writing about the fall of civilizations, it’s not enough to just list events. You need to dig into why it happened, like economic pressures or cultural changes.

3. Clear reasoning

It’s essential to think logically when writing your essays. This means laying out your arguments in a way that makes sense, so each point flows smoothly into the next.

To do this well, you’ll want to avoid common mistakes like using emotional appeals instead of solid reasoning. If you’re debating whether news agencies should be funded by taxes, you’d need to make your case using economic principles and real-world evidence.

Another important aspect of clear reasoning is addressing counterarguments. Acknowledging and responding to opposing views shows that you understand the complexity of the issue. This not only makes your argument stronger but also demonstrates respect for different perspectives. By presenting a well-rounded argument, you can make a compelling case for your position in the competition

4. Critical analysis

Thinking critically means going beyond just summarizing facts. You need to analyze and interpret data, arguments, and evidence to come up with a thoughtful conclusion.

To do this effectively, you can’t just focus on your own viewpoint. You also need to think about other perspectives and respond to them. This shows that you’re open to different ideas and can think critically. For instance, when talking about the ideal global population, you should consider what environmentalists, economists, and policymakers might think, and then integrate those views into your analysis.

Another important part of critical analysis is choosing your sources carefully. Make sure you’re using reliable, up-to-date sources to back up your arguments. Avoid using biased or outdated information. By carefully evaluating your sources and selecting the most relevant and reliable ones, you can make your argument stronger and show that you’ve done thorough research.

5. Persuasive style

In any writing competition , having a persuasive writing style is key. You need to be able to convince the judges of your ideas and arguments. If you’re debating whether a company should be allowed to turn away business based on public statements, you’d need to make a strong, well-supported argument. This could involve citing legal cases, analyzing examples, and providing clear explanations to back up your point.

To make your essay even more persuasive, try using rhetorical devices like ethos, pathos, and logos. Ethos means showing why you’re a credible source, pathos means appealing to the judges’ emotions, and logos means using logic and reason. Using these devices can make your argument stronger and more compelling.

It’s also important to think about your tone and voice. You want to sound confident but also open-minded. Acknowledge any potential counterarguments or limitations to your argument, and respond to them respectfully. Strike the right balance in your tone, and you can make sure your essay is persuasive and engaging to the judges.

John Locke Institute Essay Competition: Sample Winning Works

Another sure way of standing out in the John Locke Institute Essay Competition is to read and study past winning works. Here are a few 1st placers and let’s see what we can learn from them:

1. Hosai Kishida – 1st place, Philosophy Category, 2023

Question: Is tax theft?

Summary: The essay says that taxation is like stealing, even though some people think it’s okay because we agree to it in the social contract. But the author argues that no one would really agree to give up their money to the government if they had a choice, because governments don’t always do a good job of protecting our rights and are often influenced by people who just want to make money. In the end, the author says that because taxation isn’t something we agree to, it’s basically stealing from us.

Analysis and tips

In the winning essay, Kishida used several smart writing tricks to argue against taxation. First off, they made sure to define important terms, like theft and rational consent, right at the start. This helped lay the groundwork for their argument and made sure readers were on the same page. For example, they defined theft as taking someone’s stuff without their okay, setting things up to argue that taxation is a type of theft.

The essay was also well-organized, with each point building on the last. This made for a clear and convincing argument. They started by talking about rational consent and how it relates to state power, then moved on to critique Kant’s ideas about the state, and finished up by discussing why some people think taxation is okay. This logical progression made it easy for readers to follow along.

Kishida also used rhetorical techniques, like logos and ethos, to make their argument stronger. They used logos by giving logical explanations and examples to back up their points. They also used ethos by mentioning famous philosophers like Locke, Kant, and Friedman, which made their argument seem more credible.

To make their argument even stronger, Kishida used real examples and evidence. They talked about bad things that governments have done in the past and argued that not everyone values the goods and services that governments provide equally, which weakens the case for taxation.

Lastly, Kishida kept things respectful and reasonable. Even though they were making a controversial argument, they stayed calm and used logic and evidence to back up their points, instead of using angry or rude language. This helped them keep their credibility with the audience.

2. Joonyoung Heo – 1st place, Junior Category, 2021

Question: Should the law ever prevent people from freely making self-harming decisions? If so, what should and shouldn’t be forbidden — and according to which principles?

Summary: In the essay, the author talks about why it’s not cool for the government to make laws that try to protect people from themselves, which is called legal paternalism. The main idea is that while it might make sense for the government to step in and make laws that protect people (like seatbelt laws), it’s not okay when those laws stop people from making choices that only affect themselves. The author thinks this principle is strong because it respects individual choice, even when the government doesn’t think it’s the best choice.

The winning essay shows how to write a great essay for the John Locke Institute Essay Competition. First, Heo starts by clearly explaining important terms and ideas. This makes sure everyone knows what they’re talking about. For example, they explain legal paternalism and the harm principle right at the start.

Next, the essay is put together in a logical way. Each point builds on the last. This makes the argument strong and easy to follow. The author also uses real examples and evidence to back up their points. They talk about things like Michael Bloomberg’s soda ban and the recent change in Germany’s laws about assisted suicide to support what they’re saying.

Another smart move is how the author thinks about and answers arguments against their own. They show they really know their stuff by considering other viewpoints and responding to them in a smart way. Finally, the author keeps a cool and respectful tone throughout the essay. This helps them stay believable and makes their argument even more convincing.

Joining the John Locke Institute Essay Competition is a great chance to tackle some big philosophical and ethical questions, while also sharpening your critical thinking and writing skills . You’ll get to dive into topics that are not just interesting, but also really relevant to what’s going on in the world today.

So, it’s not just about winning a prize—it’s about growing intellectually, opening up new perspectives, and becoming part of a community of people who love exploring the big ideas that shape our lives.

Who can join the John Locke Institute Essay Competition?

Any student from any country and school can join in. High schoolers aged 15 to 18 can compete in the regular categories, while the Junior Prize is for middle schoolers aged 14 and under.

Can you submit more than one entry to the John Locke Institute Essay Competition?

Yes. Feel free to submit as many essays as you’d like in any or all categories.

Does the John Locke Institute Essay Competition have an entry fee?

The good news is that there’s no entry fee. However, if you miss the regular deadline, there’s a 20.00 USD fee for late submissions.

What is the John Locke Institute?

The John Locke Institute is an educational organization that’s all about encouraging independent thinking, critical thought , and clear reasoning among young people. They run the annual Essay Competition to get students thinking about important philosophical and ethical questions.

Who was John Locke?

John Locke was a 17th-century philosopher and physician, known as one of the most influential Enlightenment thinkers. His thoughts on liberty, property, and the social contract had a big impact on modern political thought.

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The Ultimate Guide to the John Locke Essay Competition [Everything you need to know]

Humanities and social sciences students often lack the opportunities to compete at the global level and demonstrate their expertise. Competitions like ISEF, Science Talent Search, and MIT Think are generally reserved for students in fields like biology, physics, and chemistry.

At Lumiere, many of our talented non-STEM students, who have a flair for writing are looking for ways to flex their skills. In this piece, we’ll go over one such competition - the John Locke Essay Competition. If you’re interested in learning more about how we guide students to win essay contests like this, check out our main page .

What is the John Locke Essay Competition?

The essay competition is one of the various programs conducted by the John Locke Institute (JLI) every year apart from their summer and gap year courses. To understand the philosophy behind this competition, it’ll help if we take a quick detour to know more about the institute that conducts it.

Founded in 2011, JLI is an educational organization that runs summer and gap year courses in the humanities and social sciences for high school students. These courses are primarily taught by academics from Oxford and Princeton along with some other universities. The organization was founded by Martin Cox. Our Lumiere founder, Stephen, has met Martin and had a very positive experience. Martin clearly cares about academic rigor.

The institute's core belief is that the ability to evaluate the merit of information and develop articulate sound judgments is more important than merely consuming information. The essay competition is an extension of the institute - pushing students to reason through complex questions in seven subject areas namely Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology, and Law​.

The organization also seems to have a strong record of admissions of alumni to the top colleges in the US and UK. For instance, between 2011 and 2022, over half of John Locke alumni have gone on to one of eight colleges: Chicago, Columbia, Georgetown, Harvard, Pennsylvania, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale.

How prestigious is the John Locke Contest?

The John Locke Contest is a rigorous and selective writing competition in the social sciences and humanities. While it is not as selective as the Concord Review and has a much broader range of students who can receive prizes, it is still considered a highly competitive program.

Winning a John Locke essay contest will have clear benefits for you in your application process to universities and would reflect well on your application. On the other hand, a shortlist or a commendation might not have a huge impact given that it is awarded to many students (more on this later).

What is the eligibility for the contest?

Students, of any country, who are 18 years old or younger before the date of submission can submit. They also have a junior category for students who are fourteen years old, or younger, on the date of the submission deadline.

Who SHOULD consider this competition?

We recommend this competition for students who are interested in social sciences and humanities, in particular philosophy, politics, and economics. It is also a good fit for students who enjoy writing, want to dive deep into critical reasoning, and have some flair in their writing approach (more on that below).

While STEM students can of course compete, they will have to approach the topics through a social science lens. For example, in 2021, one of the prompts in the division of philosophy was, ‘Are there subjects about which we should not even ask questions?’ Here, students of biology can comfortably write about topics revolving around cloning, gene alteration, etc, however, they will have to make sure that they are able to ground this in the theoretical background of scientific ethics and ethical philosophy in general.

Additional logistics

Each essay should address only one of the questions in your chosen subject category, and must not exceed 2000 words (not counting diagrams, tables of data, footnotes, bibliography, or authorship declaration).

If you are using an in-text-based referencing format, such as APA, your in-text citations are included in the word limit.

You can submit as many essays as you want in any and all categories. (We recommend aiming for only one given how time-consuming it can be to come up with a single good-quality submission)

Important dates

Prompts for the 2023 competition will be released in January 2023. Your submission will be due around 6 months later in June. Shortlisted candidates will be notified in mid-July which will be followed by the final award ceremony in September.

How much does it cost to take part?

What do you win?

A scholarship that will offset the cost of attending a course at the JLI. The amount will vary between $2000 and $10,000 based on whether you are a grand prize winner (best essay across all categories) or a subject category winner. (JLI programs are steeply-priced and even getting a prize in your category would not cover the entire cost of your program. While the website does not mention the cost of the upcoming summer program, a different website mentions it to be 3,000 GBP or 3600 USD)

If you were shortlisted, most probably, you will also receive a commendation certificate and an invitation to attend an academic ceremony at Oxford. However, even here, you will have to foot the bill for attending the conference, which can be a significant one if you are an international student.

How do you submit your entry?

You submit your entry through the website portal that will show up once the prompts for the next competition are up in January! You have to submit your essay in pdf format where the title of the pdf attachment should read SURNAME, First Name, Category, and Question Number (e.g. POPHAM, Alexander, Psychology, Q2).

What are the essay prompts like?

We have three insights here.

Firstly, true to the spirit of the enlightenment thinker it is named after, most of the prompts have a philosophical bent and cover ethical, social, and political themes. In line with JLI’s general philosophy, they force you to think hard and deeply about the topics they cover. Consider a few examples to understand this better:

“Are you more moral than most people you know? How do you know? Should you strive to be more moral? Why or why not?” - Philosophy, 2021

“What are the most important economic effects - good and bad - of forced redistribution? How should this inform government policy?” - Economics, 2020

“Why did the Jesus of Nazareth reserve his strongest condemnation for the self-righteous?” - Theology, 2021

“Should we judge those from the past by the standards of today? How will historians in the future judge us?” - History, 2021

Secondly, at Lumiere, our analysis is that most of these prompts are ‘deceptively rigorous’ because the complexity of the topic reveals itself gradually. The topics do not give you a lot to work with and it is only when you delve deeper into one that you realize the extent to which you need to research/read more. In some of the topics, you are compelled to define the limits of the prompt yourself and in turn, the scope of your essay. This can be a challenging exercise. Allow me to illustrate this with an example of the 2019 philosophy prompt.

“Aristotelian virtue ethics achieved something of a resurgence in the twentieth century. Was this progress or retrogression?”

Here you are supposed to develop your own method for determining what exactly constitutes progress in ethical thought. This in turn involves familiarizing yourself with existing benchmarks of measurement and developing your own method if required. This is a significant intellectual exercise.

Finally, a lot of the topics are on issues of contemporary relevance and especially on issues that are contentious . For instance, in 2019, one of the prompts for economics was about the benefits and costs of immigration whereas the 2020 essay prompt for theology was about whether Islam is a religion of peace . As we explain later, your ‘opinion’ here can be as ‘outrageous’ as you want it to be as long as you are able to back it up with reasonable arguments. Remember, the JLI website clearly declares itself to be, ‘ not a safe space, but a courteous one ’.

How competitive is the JLI Essay Competition?

In 2021, the competition received 4000 entries from 101 countries. Given that there is only one prize winner from each category, this makes this a very competitive opportunity. However, because categories have a different number of applicants, some categories are more competitive than others. One strategy to win could be to focus on fields with fewer submissions like Theology.

There are also a relatively significant number of students who receive commendations called “high commendation.” In the psychology field, for example, about 80 students received a commendation in 2022. At the same time, keep in mind that the number of students shortlisted and invited to Oxford for an academic conference is fairly high and varies by subject. For instance, Theology had around 50 people shortlisted in 2021 whereas Economics had 238 . We, at Lumiere, estimate that approximately 10% of entries of each category make it to the shortlisting stage.

How will your essay be judged?

The essays will be judged on your understanding of the discipline, quality of argumentation and evidence, and writing style. Let’s look at excerpts from various winning essays to see what this looks like in practice.

Level of knowledge and understanding of the relevant material: Differentiating your essay from casual musing requires you to demonstrate knowledge of your discipline. One way to do that is by establishing familiarity with relevant literature and integrating it well into their essay. The winning essay of the 2020 Psychology Prize is a good example of how to do this: “People not only interpret facts in a self-serving way when it comes to their health and well-being; research also demonstrates that we engage in motivated reasoning if the facts challenge our personal beliefs, and essentially, our moral valuation and present understanding of the world. For example, Ditto and Liu showed a link between people’s assessment of facts and their moral convictions” By talking about motivated reasoning in the broader literature, the author can show they are well-versed in the important developments in the field.

Competent use of evidence: In your essay, there are different ways to use evidence effectively. One such way involves backing your argument with results from previous studies . The 2020 Third Place essay in economics shows us what this looks like in practice: “Moreover, this can even be extended to PTSD, where an investigation carried out by Italian doctor G. P. Fichera, led to the conclusion that 13% of the sampling units were likely to have this condition. Initiating economic analysis here, this illustrates that the cost of embarking on this unlawful activity, given the monumental repercussions if caught, is not equal to the costs to society...” The study by G.P. Fichera is used to strengthen the author’s claim on the social costs of crime and give it more weight.

Structure, writing style, and persuasive force: A good argument that is persuasive rarely involves merely backing your claim with good evidence and reasoning. Delivering it in an impactful way is also very important. Let’s see how the winner of the 2020 Law Prize does this: “Slavery still exists, but now it applies to women and its name in prostitution”, wrote Victor Hugo in Les Misérables. Hugo’s portrayal of Fantine under the archetype of a fallen woman forced into prostitution by the most unfortunate of circumstances cannot be more jarringly different from the empowerment-seeking sex workers seen today, highlighting the wide-ranging nuances associated with commercial sex and its implications on the women in the trade. Yet, would Hugo have supported a law prohibiting the selling of sex for the protection of Fantine’s rights?” The use of Victor Hugo in the first line of the essay gives it a literary flair and enhances the impact of the delivery of the argument. Similarly, the rhetorical question, in the end, adds to the literary dimension of the argument. Weaving literary and argumentative skills in a single essay is commendable and something that the institute also recognizes.

Quality of argumentation: Finally, the quality of your argument depends on capturing the various elements mentioned above seamlessly . The third place in theology (2020) does this elegantly while describing bin-Laden’s faulty and selective use of religious verses to commit violence: “He engages in the decontextualization and truncation of Qur'anic verses to manipulate and convince, which dissociates the fatwas from bonafide Islam. For example, in his 1996 fatwa, he quotes the Sword verse but deliberately omits the aforementioned half of the Ayat that calls for mercy. bin-Laden’s intention is not interpretive veracity, but the indoctrination of his followers.” The author’s claim is that bin-Laden lacks religious integrity and thus should not be taken seriously, especially given the content of his messages. To strengthen his argument, he uses actual incidents to dissect this display of faulty reasoning.

These excerpts are great examples of the kind of work you should keep in mind when writing your own draft.

6 Winning Tips from Lumiere

Focus on your essay structure and flow: If logic and argumentation are your guns in this competition, a smooth flow is your bullet. What does a smooth flow mean? It means that the reader should be able to follow your chain of reasoning with ease. This is especially true for essays that explore abstract themes. Let’s see this in detail with the example of a winning philosophy essay. “However, if society were the moral standard, an individual is subjected to circumstantial moral luck concerning whether the rules of the society are good or evil (e.g., 2019 Geneva vs. 1939 Munich). On the other hand, contracts cannot be the standard because people are ignorant of their being under a moral contractual obligation, when, unlike law, it is impossible to be under a contract without being aware. Thus, given the shortcomings of other alternatives, human virtue is the ideal moral norm.” To establish human virtue as the ideal norm, the author points out limitations in society and contracts, leaving out human virtue as the ideal one. Even if you are not familiar with philosophy, you might still be able to follow the reasoning here. This is a great example of the kind of clarity and logical coherence that you should strive for.

Ground your arguments in a solid theoretical framework : Your essay requires you to have well-developed arguments. However, these arguments need to be grounded in academic theory to give them substance and differentiate them from casual opinions. Let me illustrate this with an example of the essay that won second place in the politics category in 2020. “Normatively, the moral authority of governments can be justified on a purely associative basis: citizens have an inherent obligation to obey the state they were born into. As Dworkin argued, “Political association, like family or friendship and other forms of association more local and intimate, is itself pregnant of obligation” (Dworkin). Similar to a family unit where children owe duties to their parents by virtue of being born into that family regardless of their consent, citizens acquire obligations to obey political authority by virtue of being born into a state.” Here, the author is trying to make a point about the nature of political obligation. However, the core of his argument is not the strength of his own reasoning, but the ability to back his reasoning with prior literature. By quoting Dworkin, he includes important scholars of western political thought to give more weight to his arguments. It also displays thorough research on the part of the author to acquire the necessary intellectual tools to write this paper.

The methodology is more important than the conclusion: The 2020 history winners came to opposite conclusions in their essays on whether a strong state hampers or encourages economic growth. While one of them argued that political strength hinders growth when compared to laissez-faire, the other argues that the state is a prerequisite for economic growth . This reflects JLI’s commitment to your reasoning and substantiation instead of the ultimate opinion. The lesson: Don’t be afraid to be bold! Just make sure you are able to back it up.

Establish your framework well: A paragraph (or two) that is able to succinctly describe your methodology, core arguments, and the reasoning behind them displays academic sophistication. A case in point is the introduction of 2019’s Philosophy winner: “To answer the question, we need to construct a method that measures progress in philosophy. I seek to achieve this by asserting that, in philosophy, a certain degree of falsification is achievable. Utilizing philosophical inquiry and thought experiments, we can rationally assess the logical validity of theories and assign “true” and “false” status to philosophical thoughts. With this in mind, I propose to employ the fourth process of the Popperian model of progress…Utilizing these two conditions, I contend that Aristotelian virtue ethics was progress from Kantian ethics and utilitarianism.” Having a framework like this early on gives you a blueprint for what is in the essay and makes it easier for the reader to follow the reasoning. It also helps you as a writer since distilling down your core argument into a paragraph ensures that the first principles of your essay are well established.

Read essays of previous winners: Do this and you will start seeing some patterns in the winning essays. In economics, this might be the ability to present a multidimensional argument and substantiating it with data-backed research. In theology, this might be your critical analysis of religious texts .

Find a mentor: Philosophical logic and argumentation are rarely taught at the high school level. Guidance from an external mentor can fill this academic void by pointing out logical inconsistencies in your arguments and giving critical feedback on your essay. Another important benefit of having a mentor is that it will help you in understanding the heavy literature that is often a key part of the writing/research process in this competition. As we have already seen above, having a strong theoretical framework is crucial in this competition. A mentor can make this process smoother.

If you’d like to supplement your competitive experience with independent research, consider applying to Horizon’s Research Seminars and Labs ! 

This is a selective virtual research program that lets you engage in advanced research and develop a research paper on a subject of your choosing. Horizon has worked with 1000+ high school students so far and offers 600+ research specializations for you to choose from. 

You can find the application link here

Lumiere Research Scholar Program

If you’re looking for a mentor to do an essay contest like John Locke or want to build your own independent research paper, then consider applying to the Lumiere Research Scholar Program . Last year over 2100 students applied for about 500 spots in the program. You can find the application form   here .

You can see our admission results here for our students.

Manas is a publication strategy associate at Lumiere Education. He studied public policy and interactive media at NYU and has experience in education consulting.

Everything You Should Know about the John Locke Institute (JLI) Essay Competition

By Jin Chow

Co-founder of Polygence, Forbes 30 Under 30 for Education

3 minute read

We first wrote about the world-famous John Locke Institute (JLI) Essay Competition in our list of 20 writing contests for high school students . This contest is a unique opportunity to refine your argumentation skills on fascinating and challenging topics that aren’t explored in the classroom.

The Oxford philosopher, medical doctor, political scientist, and economist John Locke was a big believer in challenging old habits of the mind. In that spirit, the JLI started this contest to challenge students to be more adventurous in their thinking. 

While not quite as prestigious as getting published in The Concord Review , winning the grand prize or placing in one of the 7 categories of the John Locke Essay Competition can get your college application noticed by top schools like Princeton, Harvard, Oxford, and Cambridge. Awards include $2,000 scholarships (for category prize winners) and a $10,000 scholarship for the grand prize. (The scholarships can be applied to the JLI’s Summer Schools at Oxford University, Princeton University, or Washington DC, or to its Gap Year programs in Oxford University, Guatemala, or Washington DC) 

But winning isn’t necessarily the best thing about it. Simply entering the contest and writing your essay will give you a profound learning experience like no other. Add to that the fact that your entry will be read and possibly commented on by some of the top minds at Oxford and Princeton University and it’s free to enter the competition. The real question is: why wouldn’t you enter? Here’s a guide to get you started on your essay contest entry.

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Eligibility

The John Locke Institute Essay Competition is open to any high school student anywhere in the world, ages 15-18. Students 14 or under are eligible for the Junior prize. 

John Locke Essay Competition Topics

The essay questions change from year to year. You can choose from 7 different categories (Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology, and Law). Within each category, there are 3 intriguing questions you can pick from. When you’re debating which question to write about, here’s a tip. Choose whichever question excites, upsets, or gives you any kind of strong emotional response. If you’re passionate about a topic, it will come through in your research and your writing. If you have any lived experience on the subject, that also helps. 

There are some sample questions the 2023 contest for each of the seven JLI essay subject  categories and the Junior Prize (the questions change each year):

Philosophy: Is tax theft? 

Politics: Do the results of elections express the will of the people?

Economics: What would happen if we banned billionaires?  

History: Which has a bigger effect on history: the plans of the powerful or their mistakes?

Psychology: Can happiness be measured?

Theology: What distinguishes a small religion from a large cult?

Law: Are there too many laws?

Junior Prize: What, if anything, do your parents owe you?

John Locke Writing Contest Requirements

Your essay must not exceed 2,000 words (not counting diagrams, tables of data, endnotes, bibliography, or authorship declaration) and must address only one of the questions in your chosen subject category. No footnotes are allowed, but you may include in-text citations or endnotes. 

Timeline and Deadlines

January - New essay questions are released

April 1st - Registration opens

May 31st  - Registration deadline

June 30th - Essay submission deadline

We highly recommend you check the JLI website as soon as the new questions are released in January and start researching and writing as soon as you can after choosing your topic. You must register for the contest by the end of May. The deadline for the essay submission itself is at the end of June, but we also recommend that you submit it earlier in case any problems arise. If you start right away in January, you can have a few months to work on your essay. 

John Locke Institute Essay Competition Judging Criteria

While the JLI says that their grading system is proprietary, they do also give you this helpful paragraph that describes what they are looking for: “Essays will be judged on knowledge and understanding of the relevant material, the competent use of evidence, quality of argumentation, originality, structure, writing style and persuasive force. The very best essays are likely to be those which would be capable of changing somebody's mind. Essays which ignore or fail to address the strongest objections and counter-arguments are unlikely to be successful. Candidates are advised to answer the question as precisely and directly as possible.” (We’ve bolded important words to keep in mind.) 

You can also join the JLI mailing list (scroll to the bottom of that page) to get contest updates and to learn more about what makes for a winning essay.

The words will fly off the page!

Interested in Literature and Languages? We'll match you with an expert mentor who will help you explore your next project.

Research and Essay Writing Tactics

Give yourself a baseline. First, just write down all your thoughts on the subject without doing any research. What are your gut-level opinions? What about this particular question intrigued you the most? What are some counter-arguments you can think of right away? What you are trying to do here is identify holes in your knowledge or understanding of the subject. What you don’t know or are unsure about can guide your research. Be sure to find evidence to support all the things you think you already know. 

Create a reading/watching list of related books, interviews, articles, podcasts, documentaries, etc. that relate to your topic. Find references that both support and argue against your argument. Choose the most highly reputable sources you can find. You may need to seek out and speak to experts to help you locate the best sources. Read and take notes. Address those questions and holes in the knowledge you identified earlier. Also, continue to read widely and think about your topic as you observe the world from day to day. Sometimes unrelated news stories, literature, film, songs, and visual art can give you an unexpected insight into your essay question. Remember that c is a learning experience and that you are not going to have a rock-solid argument all at once.

Read past essays . These will give you a sense of the criteria judges are using to select winning work. These essays are meant to convince the judges of a very specific stance. The argument must be clear and must include evidence to support it. You will note that winning entries tend to get straight to the point, show an impressive depth of knowledge on the subject with citations to reputable sources, flow with excellent reasoning, and use precise language. They don’t include flowery digressions. Save that for a different type of writing.

Proof your work with a teacher or mentor if possible. Even though your argument needs to be wholly your own, it certainly helps to bounce ideas around with someone who cares about the topic. A teacher or mentor can help you explore different options if you get stuck and point you toward new resources. They can offer general advice and point out errors or weaknesses. Working with a teacher or mentor is important for another reason. When you submit your entry, you will be required to provide the email address of an “academic referee” who is familiar with your work. This should be teachers, mentors, or other faculty members who are not related to you.

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Research and prepare for your competition or fair.

Polygence pairs you with an expert mentor in your area of passion. Together, you work to create a high quality research project that is uniquely your own. Our highly-specialized mentors can help guide you to feel even more prepared for an upcoming fair or competion. We also offer options to explore multiple topics, or to showcase your final product!

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High commendations? (2023 John Locke Essay Competition)

Some people were shortlisted by did not receive top 3. I searched online to see whether this year, JLI will award high comm to the top 5% of entries. The results page says that 'all shortlisted applicants receive a commendation' and I'm not sure what that means:

It could mean all of us who didn't get top 3 walk away with a commendation

However, (1) apparently people who physically attended the ceremony were informed if their essay got 'distinction', which is what high comm was renamed to (2) the description of the comp states that all participants would be emailed an eCertificate, which hasn't been done (3) the phrasing of the quote above is ambiguous as it also suggests top 3 prize winners also receive a commendation (i.e. commendation and other awards are not mutually exclusive)

So I wanted to ask this community, what do you think would happen? Have you heard anything through the grapevine? How did you interpret the message?

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John Locke Institute Global Essay Prize 2024

Deadline: May 31, 2024

Applications are open for John Locke Institute Global Essay Prize 2024 . The John Locke Institute encourages young people to cultivate the characteristics that turn good students into great writers: independent thought, depth of knowledge, clear reasoning, critical analysis and persuasive style. The Essay Competition invites students to explore a wide range of challenging and interesting questions beyond the confines of the school curriculum.

Entering an essay in the competition can build knowledge and refine skills of argumentation. It also gives students the chance to have their work assessed by experts. All of the essay prizes are judged by a panel of senior academics drawn from leading universities including Oxford and Princeton, under the leadership of the Chairman of Examiners, former Cambridge philosopher, Dr Jamie Whyte. The judges will choose their favourite essay from each of seven subject categories – Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology and Law – and then select the winner of the Grand Prize for the best entry in any subject. There is also a separate prize awarded for the best essay in the junior category, for under 15s.

• There is a prize for the best essay in each category. The prize for each winner of a subject category, and the winner of the Junior category, is a scholarship worth US$2,000 towards the cost of attending any John Locke Institute programme, and the essays will be published on the Institute’s website. Prize-giving ceremonies will take place in London, at which winners and runners-up will be able to meet some of the judges and other faculty members of the John Locke Institute. Family, friends, and teachers are also welcome.
• The candidate who submits the best essay overall will be awarded an honorary John Locke Institute Junior Fellowship, which comes with a US$10,000 scholarship to attend one or more of JLI’s summer schools and/or visiting scholars programmes.
• All short-listed candidates, including prize-winners, will be able to download eCertificates that acknowledge their achievement. If you win First, Second or Third Prize, and you travel to London for the ceremony, you will receive a signed certificate.

Eligibility

• Open to students from any country.
• Candidates must be eighteen years old, or younger, on that date. (Candidates for the Junior Prize must be fourteen years old, or younger, on that date.)
• Each essay must address only one of the questions in your chosen subject category, and must not exceed 2000 words (not counting diagrams, tables of data, endnotes, bibliography or authorship declaration).

Application

Click here to apply

For more information, visit Global Essay Prize .

Jahmel Brown is a youth leader, advocate, and opportunity connector from Jamaica, which is located in the Caribbean. He believes in the power of young people through shaping them with life-changing opportunities.

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JOHN LOCKE INSTITUTE ESSAY COMPETITION

JOHN LOCKE INSTITUTE

Sponsoring Institution: John Locke Institute

Type: Essay competition

Eligibility: All students under 18 years of age are welcome to join. The documents that applicants submit must not have their name appear on it and have no footnotes. However, a bibliography is required. Students must also include an academic referee that knows the writer’s work.

Application Deadline : End of June or early July for late entries

Highlight: Are you a budding intellectual eager to showcase your ideas on a global stage? Look no further than the John Locke Institute Essay Competition! This prestigious competition offers you the chance to delve into your favorite subjects, whether it’s Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, or Theology. Winners not only gain recognition from academic experts worldwide but also enjoy a $2,000 scholarship to any John Locke Institute program and can win a $10,000 scholarship to attend one of John Locke’s summer schools.

Entry is entirely free, but you must remember to register by the end of May, to qualify. The submission process is straightforward yet challenging. Select a question from your chosen category, pen down your thoughts in a compelling essay, and submit it before the end of June. All details on how to submit your essay, from formatting guidelines to submission processes, are meticulously outlined on the John Locke Institute Essay Competition website .

So, if you’re ready to take this exciting leap and put your ideas to the test, ensure you’re all set before the deadlines. Don’t let this extraordinary opportunity slip away—prepare, participate, and pave the way to your future.

It is our anual free funding event for high schoolers from all over the world

John Locke Essay Competition Shortlist 2024

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2024 Leadership Essay Contest

Supported by drs. jack and jennifer london charitable foundation, the challenge.

The Leadership Essay Contest focuses on the roles of leadership and character in the U.S. Sea Services from the perspective of tomorrow's leaders. Junior officers (LCDR/Major and below) from the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard are eligible to participate.

Submission Guidelines

• Essays must be no more than 2,000 words maximum (excludes endnotes/resources).
• Include word count on title page of essay , but do not include author name(s) on title page or within the essay.
• Essays are judged in the blind.
• Submit essay as a Word document at www.usni.org/leadershipessay by 30 November 2024 .
• Essay must be original and not previously published (online or in print) or being considered for publication elsewhere. 

First Prize: $5,000

Second Prize: $2,500

Third Prize: $1,500

Selection Process

The  Proceedings  staff members will evaluate every essay and screen the top essays to a special Essay Selection Committee of at least six members who will include two members of the Naval Institute’s Editorial Board and four subject matter experts.

Announcement of the Winners

Winners will be published in a future issue of Proceedings .

Submit your Essay

Previous winners, 2022 leadership essay contest sponsored by dr. jennifer london in honor of dr. jack london, 2021 leadership essay contest sponsored by dr. j. phillip london, 2020 leadership essay contest sponsored by dr. j. phillip london and caci international, 2019 leadership essay contest sponsored by dr. j. phillip london and caci international, 2018 leadership essay contest a u.s. naval institute program in partnership with dr. j. phillip london and caci international, 2017 leadership essay contest a u.s. naval institute program in partnership with dr. j. phillip london and caci international, 2016 leadership essay contest a u.s. naval institute program in partnership with dr. j. phillip london and caci international, 2015 leadership essay contest a u.s. naval institute program in partnership with dr. j. phillip london and caci international, 2014 leadership essay contest a u.s. naval institute program in partnership with dr. j. phillip london and caci international, 2013 leadership essay contest a u.s. naval institute program in partnership with dr. j. phillip london and caci international, 2005 vincent astor memorial leadership essay contest, 2004 vincent astor memorial leadership essay contest, 2003 vincent astor memorial leadership essay contest, 2002 vincent astor memorial leadership essay contest, 2001 vincent astor memorial leadership essay contest, 2000 vincent astor memorial leadership essay contest, 1999 vincent astor memorial leadership essay contest, 1998 vincent astor memorial leadership essay contest, 1997 vincent astor memorial leadership essay contest, 1996 vincent astor memorial leadership essay contest, 1995 vincent astor memorial leadership essay contest, 1994 vincent astor memorial leadership essay contest, 1993 vincent astor memorial leadership essay contest, 1992 vincent astor memorial leadership essay contest, 1991 vincent astor memorial leadership essay contest, 1990 vincent astor memorial leadership essay contest, 1989 vincent astor memorial leadership essay contest, 1988 vincent astor memorial leadership essay contest, 1987 vincent astor memorial leadership essay contest, 1986 vincent astor memorial leadership essay contest, 1985 vincent astor memorial leadership essay contest, 1984 vincent astor memorial leadership essay contest, 1983 vincent astor memorial leadership essay contest, 1982 vincent astor memorial leadership essay contest, 1981 vincent astor memorial leadership essay contest, 1980 vincent astor memorial leadership essay contest, 1979 vincent astor memorial leadership essay contest, 1978 vincent astor memorial leadership essay contest, 1977 vincent astor memorial leadership essay contest, 1976 vincent astor memorial leadership essay contest, 1975 vincent astor memorial leadership essay contest, receive the newsletter.

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Locke and Labour

By: Billy Christmas September 14, 2021

Copyright and Fair Use Statement

“Liberty Matters” is the copyright of Liberty Fund, Inc . This material is put on line to further the educational goals of Liberty Fund, Inc. These essays and responses may be quoted and otherwise used under “fair use” provisions for educational and academic purposes. To reprint these essays in course booklets requires the prior permission of Liberty Fund, Inc. Please contact [email protected] if you have any questions.

Current Posts

Part of: john locke on commercial society (september 2021).

• Response Essay Response to Bas Van der Vossen
• Response Essay Locke and Labour
• Response Essay Response to Bas van der Vossen
• Conversation Comments Response to the Responses
• Conversation Comments Unproductive Incentives
• Conversation Comments Property, Productivity, and Creating Good Christians
• Conversation Comments Property, Freedom, and Equality

Acting against Wish according to Will: John Locke's Ethics

• Emiliya Tajsina Department of Philosophy, Kazan State Power Engineering University, Kazan

Eco, U. (2000). Pat esse na temy etiki [Five essays on ethics issues], (E. Kostyukovich, Trans.). Sainkt Petersburg: Publishing house Symposium.

Habermas, J. (1992). Demokratia, razum, moralnost [Democracy, reason, morality]. Moscow: Nauka Publishing.

Habermas, J. (2001). Moralnoye soznaniye I kommunikativnoye deistviye [Moral consciousness and communicative action] (D.V. Sklyadnev, Trans., B.V. Markov, Afterword). Sainkt Petersburg: Nauka Publishing.

Habermas, J. (2003). Filosofskiy diskurs moderniti [Philosophical discourse of Modernity] (Mikhail Belyaev, et al., Trans.). Moscow: Ves mir (World Publishing House).

Locke, J. (1985). Opyt o Chelovecheskom razumenii [An Essay Concerning Human Understanding], Works, in 3 v. V. I, II, (A.N. Savin, Trans). Moscow: Mysl Publishing.

Tajsin, E. (2014). Filosofskiye Voprosy Semiotiki [Philosophical problems of semiotics]. Sainkt Petersburg: Aletheia.

Smith, M. (2013). Meta-ethics. In F. Jackson, M. Smith (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Philosophy. UK: Oxford University Press.

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Claremont Review of Books

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From Under the Rubble

The life and works of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, a true friend of human liberty.

Books  Reviewed

The Solzhenitsyn Reader: New and Essential Writings, 1947-2005

A review of  the solzhenitsyn reader: new and essential writings, 1947-2005 , by aleksandr solzhenitsyn, edited by edward e. ericson, jr., and daniel j. mahoney  .

In November 2006 a publishing house in Moscow issued the first three volumes of the collected works of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. The remaining volumes will be released through 2010, and the 30-volume set will be the first full collection of Solzhenitsyn's works to be published and sold in Russia.

The Solzhenitsyn Reader  is a noteworthy publishing event in its own right. The need for such an anthology in English has been apparent for some time, and not only to acquaint a new generation with his works. The range of his writing is wide, and over the years various shorter pieces—essays, speeches, and the prose poems he calls "miniatures"—have been hard to obtain, even for the resourceful.

The anthology   was worth the wait. A labor of love for editors Edward Ericson and Daniel Mahoney, this project also involved some of Solzhenitsyn's best translators, including his sons Yermolai, Ignat, and Stephan. As both an introduction to Solzhenitsyn and a collection of some of his best writing, the book will be a splendid resource for many years.

As one would expect, the  Reader  includes selections from the author's principal literary works,  The First Circle ,  Cancer Ward ,  The Gulag Archipelago , and  The Red Wheel . But there is one surprise—without comment, the editors have left out  One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich , the brilliant 1962 novella that launched Solzhenitsyn's career. Given the brevity of  Ivan Denisovich  and its special status among works written under Communism, perhaps the editors decided that an abridgement would be inappropriate.

In the main, the selections Ericson and Mahoney have chosen are engrossing. Those familiar with the author's  oeuvre  might question a few of their choices—I would have liked to see several more chapters from  The Gulag Archipelago —but the editors cannot be accused of unreasonable bias.

The  Reader  contains some of Solzhenitsyn's best poems, short stories, speeches, and essays. To have these in one place is a delight. The highlights include the short story "Matryona's Home"; excerpts from  The Trail , an autobiographical poem exceeding 7,000 lines; the Nobel Lecture, published in 1972; and Solzhenitsyn's 1978 Harvard University commencement address. The  Reader  also has excerpts from the first volume of Solzhenitsyn's memoirs ( The Oak and the Calf ) and his historical study of Russian-Jewish relations in his homeland ( Two Hundred Years Together ).

The editors' good judgment derives from their extensive knowledge of Solzhenitsyn, which probably matches that of any American scholar or journalist alive today. Ericson has published two books on Solzhenitsyn's thought; Mahoney one. In their introductory essay to the  Reader  and in the commentaries preceding each selection, the editors touch on aspects of Solzhenitsyn's life and career as a writer.

We learn, for instance, about the effect of the Soviet censors on Solzhenitsyn's books. After the critical success of  Ivan Denisovich  in both the USSR and abroad, Solzhenitsyn tried to have  The First Circle  published. Soviet authorities refused. Solzhenitsyn sought a compromise and offered a less controversial version of the novel with nine chapters cut. This initiative failed, though the shorter version was translated into English. Thus since 1968 the novel in its original form has been unavailable to English-language readers. This situation was at last rectified in 2005, with the completion of a new translation of  The First Circle  (excerpts of which appear in the  Reader ) by the distinguished British scholar H.T. Willetts.

Elsewhere, the editors help to clear away the falsehoods about Solzhenitsyn, most of which concern his political views. It is fair to say that Solzhenitsyn has misgivings about the theory and practice of Western democracy; but the idea that he is a theocrat or an authoritarian is simply untenable, as the editors patiently and convincingly explain.

Some might argue that Solzhenitsyn himself is partly responsible for the misinterpretation of his views. In an interview with David Remnick in 1994, he conceded that he speaks and writes with a forcefulness that is unusual in the contemporary West. Solzhenitsyn's directness can be sharp, and his sharpness may have given rise to some confusion. But in an atmosphere of moral flaccidity, his directness is attractive, and necessary.

In the United States, controversies and misconceptions about the man date back to the mid-1970s. After being expelled from the Soviet Union, he settled in Zurich and later moved with his family to Vermont. In a series of political speeches and essays, he criticized the Soviet leaders and their oppressive policies, but also extended his criticism to the West and its leadership (or lack thereof).

Although he is not a systematic political thinker—and the editors ask that we not judge his life and literary works by political criteria—some of Solzhenitsyn's ideas are highly relevant to current debates in political theory. In his Harvard commencement address, for example, he described the "legalistic life" of the contemporary West:

If one is right from a legal point of view, nothing more is required, nobody may mention that one could still not be entirely right, and urge self-restraint or a renunciation of these rights, call for sacrifice and selfless risk: This would simply sound absurd. Voluntary self-restraint is almost unheard of: Everybody strives toward further expansion to the extreme limit of the legal frames.

This is hyperbole, but it is effective hyperbole. It brings into focus a central theme of the address: what political theorist William Galston has called "the vast terrain between rights and rightness." Solzhenitsyn holds that moral judgments cannot be reduced to questions of legality, that something legally permissible is not necessarily morally permissible. With few exceptions, this point eludes contemporary liberals, who seem to think that when something is decriminalized (pornography, for example), society should adopt a "nonjudgmental" attitude towards it. Solzhenitsyn's position is closer to the classical liberal view. His argument echoes the age-old distinction between liberty and license, which finds expression in the writings of John Locke, T.H. Green, and John Stuart Mill. The editors remind us that "the defense of human liberty and dignity is not exhausted by the categories or assumptions of late modernity."

Solzhenitsyn's talk of "self-restraint" and a "renunciation of rights" hardly proves that he is a reactionary. Rather, as the editors argue, he challenges the West to "explore prudently the necessarily difficult relations between order and liberty, tradition and progress." In doing so, the West can draw from its Christian heritage, which honors the virtues of mercy and self-sacrifice as moral antidotes to human greed and selfishness.

Despite all that Solzhenitsyn has seen and endured, including the problems that now beset Russia, the editors describe him as "an optimist" and note that he describes himself the same way. Part of that optimism is his hope that the West will recover its religious heritage and recognize the folly of having "forgotten God" in the 20th century.

Since returning to Russia in 1994, however, he seems to have become more worried about the moral future of the West and of America in particular. In April 1999 Solzhenitsyn castigated NATO for bombing Serbia. He said that no one "should hold on to illusions that this bloc aims to defend the Kosovars." He added, "The aggressors have tossed the U.N. aside and begun a new era when the strong bear down and dictate their will."

In a 2001 interview with David Remnick, Solzhenitsyn characterized the expansion of NATO into Eastern Europe as the betrayal of a promise made by President George H.W. Bush to Mikhail Gorbachev, who had agreed to withdraw Soviet troops from the Eastern Bloc on the condition that NATO be prevented from expanding eastward. After Poland and Hungary joined NATO, Solzhenitsyn remarked that Russians "began to understand the arrogance, the real policies, of the Western powers." Five years later, Solzhenitsyn said that "there is no substantial difference between NATO and U.S. actions," and that Russia's joining NATO "would result not in the expansion but the decline of Christian civilization."

Because American conservatives have been one of Solzhenitsyn's loyal constituencies, I wish the editors had more forthrightly discussed criticisms like these. In their introduction to the  Reader , there is a cryptic reference to the problems with imposing democracy by force, but the relevant issues are left unexplored. To be sure, I do not think agreement with all of Solzhenitsyn's criticisms is necessary in order to be grateful for his voice. The editors are right to maintain that he is a "true friend of human liberty."

The selections in  The Solzhenitsyn Reader  confirm what the editors suggest in the opening pages: the author's life almost defies belief. Born in Russia one year after the Bolshevik seizure of power, he outlived the political system that persecuted him, surviving its horrible network of labor camps while documenting its myriad crimes. Solzhenitsyn's writings are indispensable for understanding the 20th century. For those who would like to sample that corpus generously, the  Reader  is an excellent place to begin.

Next in the fall 2007 Issue

American statecraft and the iraq war, a thousand and one nights, mother tongue.