Abstract

The theoretical similarity between domestic and international liberalism has yet to be fully understood. This study therefore seeks to compare the classic domestic liberalism of John Locke with the equally classic international liberalism of Woodrow Wilson. Specifically, the study tests the hypothesis that Wilson's policy on the League of Nations represented an international version of Locke's social contract theory. The hypothesis is tested by means of a historico-analytical method that combines textual interpretation with historical reconstruction. ;Overall, the study's results confirm the hypothesis. In particular, they show that the social contract theories of Locke and Wilson both contain the following tenets: the law of nature, which embodies the concept of natural equality, endows all individuals with the natural rights to life, liberty, and property; the state of nature fails in enforcing the law of nature and thus is a state of war; and political society succeeds in enforcing the law of nature and thus is a state of peace. ;The study's conclusion is that although the liberal theories of both Locke and Wilson failed to fully resolve the basic tension between the rights of the individual and the requirements of political society, this tension can nevertheless be resolved by means of Hegel's concept of civil society