John Locke

About John Locke

John Locke (1632–1704) is ranked by the MIT Pantheon project as the 202nd most historically important figure globally, a testament to his profound influence as an Enlightenment philosopher. His writings, particularly the *Two Treatises of Government*, laid the foundational philosophical groundwork for modern liberalism, profoundly shaping concepts like natural rights—life, liberty, and property—and the social contract theory, which heavily informed the American and French Revolutions. His work remains a cornerstone of Western political thought.

In the modern digital landscape of 2025, Locke receives an estimated 1.0 million Wikipedia views, indicating a significant attention gap. With an HPI Rank of #202, his online readership is actually double what might be expected based on his historical stature—a finding we categorize as **overattention** (+2x). However, this overall number masks a slight decline, as his pageviews have decreased by 9.1% year-over-year, and recent momentum (Q1 vs Q3) shows an 8% drop, suggesting that even highly ranked thinkers are subject to fluctuating digital interest.

For comparison, a figure with a much lower historical ranking, like Rajneesh (#568), garners 1.7 million views, illustrating how modern popular interest often diverges from long-term cultural impact, even when Locke's figure is technically overrepresented.