From Locke to Life: A Manifesto for Regenerative Governance offers a comprehensive critique and reconstitution of the philosophical foundations of modern political economy. Tracing the legacy of John Locke’s social contract, property theory, and liberal individualism, the book exposes how these once-liberatory ideas have come to underwrite systemic ecological degradation, structural inequality, and political illegitimacy in the contemporary era.
In response, the text advances a new onto-axiological framework — Life-Value Onto-Axiology (LVOA) — which grounds legitimacy, rights, value, and governance in the universal requirements of life itself. Rejecting abstractions such as GDP, market price, and procedural consent as sufficient evaluative criteria, the manifesto centers life coherence — the capacity of systems to sustain, develop, and regenerate shared life conditions — as the ultimate standard of assessment.
Through rigorous philosophical analysis and systemic synthesis, the book redefines key political concepts: rights become entitlements to life goods; property becomes stewardship; freedom becomes enabled agency; and government becomes a steward of regenerative provisioning rather than an enforcer of possessive individualism. It offers a roadmap for civilizational transition through institutional redesign, cultural transformation, and the reconstruction of a life-grounded social contract.
Intended for scholars, policymakers, and regenerative practitioners, From Locke to Life articulates both a critique of modernity’s terminal incoherence and a principled vision for its transformation. It affirms that a viable future demands more than reform — it requires a fundamental realignment of our systems, values, and selves with the coherence of life itself.
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