Was Locke a Liberal?

For three decades, John Locke has been the object of a tug-of-war between scholars who view him as the father of modern liberalism and those who view him as an exponent of civic republicanism. A closer reading of Locke’s life and thought reveals that he was both, and that the ahistorical liberal-republican debate has obscured rather than illuminated the nature of Locke’s radicalism and influence.