The John Locke Foundation is an independent, nonprofit think tank working for truth, freedom, and the future of North Carolina.

The John Locke Foundation is named for John Locke (1632-1704), an English philosopher whose writings inspired Thomas Jefferson and the other Founders. Locke is a 501(c)(3) research institute and is funded by thousands of individuals, foundations and corporations. The Foundation does not accept government funds or contributions to influence its work or the outcomes of its research.

Locke’s Vision

Locke envisions a North Carolina in which liberty and limited, constitutional government are the cornerstones of society so that individuals, families, and institutions can freely shape their own destinies.

Locke’s Mission

Locke’s mission is to be North Carolina’s most influential force driving public policy so North Carolinians flourish in a free and prosperous society.

Our History

When the John Locke Foundation opened its doors in 1990, it was one of the first free-market, limited-government think tanks in the country to focus the majority of its attention on a single state. Named for the 17th-century English philosopher who exerted such a profound influence on the American Founders, Locke would soon exert significant influence of its own on North Carolina’s most important public policy debates.

Little more than a year into its operations, Locke published the first issue of Carolina Journal (CJ). Initially a magazine devoted to promoting the organization’s work, over the years CJ transformed into one of the most honored and highly respected news operations in the state. Its reporters and editors uncovered government waste and political scandals, highlighted the efforts of the state’s unsung entrepreneurs, and documented the impact of government policies on everyday people. As a member of the NC Press Association, CJ continues to earn recognition and awards for its thorough and insightful coverage of state policy and politics.

In 1992 Locke published impactful research reports on school reform and public-private toll roads. Proposals for an “entrepreneurial school” helped plant the seed for the charter school movement in North Carolina which blossomed in the mid-1990s. In 1995 Locke prepared its first alternative state budget, giving lawmakers ideas about ways they could protect taxpayers’ pocketbooks while still funding core government services. It was also 1995 when Gov. Jim Hunt, a Democrat serving in his third term, chose a John Locke Foundation event to unveil plans for an even larger tax cut package than that contemplated by incoming Republican state House leaders.

Locke research helped inspire the General Assembly to enact a health plan tax credit in 1998. The organization also turned its attention to improving local government through reports like the annual “By The Numbers” rankings of city and county government spending burdens. Locke helped facilitate the growth of a new state-by-state transportation ranking, too, which continues today.

In 2005, roughly 15 years after Locke’s birth, the Civitas Institute joined North Carolina’s public policy landscape as a group committed to fighting for freedom. After years of alignment on principles and policy, the two organizations would eventually merge.

Two years later, in 2007, Locke researchers helped provide the data and arguments to help defeat dozens of local sales-tax referendums across North Carolina. In county after county, Locke showed that county commissioners could make better use of existing revenue before sticking their hands back into taxpayers’ pockets.

In 2010, Locke launched the “I will not comply” campaign against Obamacare, attracting national attention from Rush Limbaugh, the nation’s leading talk radio personality. A year later Locke researchers helped newly empowered conservative legislative leaders justify their plans to end a regressive “temporary” sales tax that was in danger of becoming permanent.

The year 2013 became significant because of a first-of-its-kind alignment in North Carolina of conservative leadership in both chambers of the General Assembly and the governor’s mansion. Locke published “First In Freedom: Transforming Ideas Into Consequences for North Carolina,” a book designed to guide policy reforms from a free-market, limited-government perspective.

The most significant piece of the reform agenda was a transformation of North Carolina’s tax code. Locke inspired broad-based reform that flattened and lowered income tax rates while also pushing for the end of loopholes that inserted government into far too many of North Carolinians’ economic decisions.

Locke’s work to combat the overreach of climate change alarmists attracted national attention in 2016. A left-of-center Rhode Island politician singled Locke out for attention during a US Senate floor speech. The speech attacked Locke and other groups that challenged doom-and-gloom climate scenarios that had begun to influence energy and transportation policy decisions in state and local governments across the country.

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 offered Locke another opportunity to stand up against the prevailing policy winds. Locke researchers regularly questioned ill-informed government policies that led to shutdowns harming business, students, and the North Carolina economy.

Locke and Civitas joined forces in 2021, combining the best elements of both organizations to create an even stronger force for individual liberty and limited constitutional government in North Carolina. The merger helped lead to new centers focusing on K-12 education policy, elections and public integrity, and a range of energy, agricultural, and regulatory issues under the umbrella of food, power, and life.

Always attuned to the power of the written word, Locke’s work in its fourth decade of operations began to incorporate more and more video and graphic elements. The 250th anniversaries of significant milestones in state and national history prompted a 10-part video podcast, “Revolutionary Roads,” and documentaries on the Edenton Tea Party and the Battle of Moores Creek Bridge.

Locke looks forward to playing a key role in North Carolina’s future, too. Through innovative research, energetic outreach, honest journalism, reflective history, and more, the John Locke Foundation strives to play the leading part in promoting a free and prosperous society for generations to come. Join us!

Is the John Locke Foundation Conservative?

Some people ask us: Is the John Locke Foundation a Republican group? No, the John Locke Foundation is nonpartisan.

Others ask: Is the John Locke Foundation conservative? The answer to this question is not as simple.

The John Locke Foundation believes in free markets, limited constitutional government, and personal responsibility. In the modern American political context, those principles are labeled conservative. Historically, and in most other countries today, those have been considered liberal or “classical liberal” principles. Some observers also consider those principles libertarian.

If someone asks whether the John Locke Foundation is conservative, (classically) liberal, or libertarian, the appropriate answer is “yes.”