john locke institute winning essays

What is the socially efficient level of crime?

Raphael Conte, Sir William Borlase's Grammar School, United Kingdom

Winner of the 2020 Economics Prize ​| 10 min read 

In this essay, it is argued that the socially efficient level of crime is actually significantly above nil, despite rampant social costs, due to the necessary trade-off between prevention expenditure and costs inflicted by crimes, as well as the potential beneficial effects of crime. [1]  However, it must be recognised that there is no ‘simple relationship’ between crime and social costs derived from it, although cost-benefit analysis supplemented by case studies provides an indication. [2] Firstly, there are the social costs of crime with an added opportunity cost dimension. Secondly, there are prevention costs followed by the potential social benefits. Finally, the use of fines may help to determine a socially efficient level. Here, crime refers to various acts that imply a transgression of social norms and are punishable by law, from financial crimes to homicide, although naturally “crime” can have varying definitions, within different legal systems.

In this context, ‘social efficiency’ can be characterised as taking all the consequences of crime on all economic agents into consideration. [3] specifically, social efficiency can be defined as: marginal social costs totalling marginal social benefits (msc=msb) with social costs divided into preemptive prevention costs and the social costs of the crimes expenditure and costs inflicted by crimes, as well as the potential beneficial effects of crimes themselves. [4] therefore, in order to minimise overall social costs, the marginal cost of preventing crime should equal the marginal social cost of crime (mcp=msc). if mcp>msc of crime, then crimes are more costly to prevent than allowing them to occur, thus contributing to a higher overall social cost. contrastingly, if mcp<msc, then crime could have been prevented at a lower social cost than the social cost inflicted by the crime., however, it can be argued that the socially efficient level of crime is nil as it is ‘the primary source of inefficiency in the economy,’ effectively ‘bypassing the market.’ [5] [6] principally, external costs involved in crime can be so considerable that it should not be present at all. this includes costs attached to crime which can be divided into apprehension, conviction and punishment costs. [7] firstly, apprehension costs can be estimated using uk police spending, which was £14,063m in 2019-20. [8] secondly, average unit conviction costs range from £200 for commercial theft to £800,980 for homicide. [9] thirdly, incarceration cost the taxpayer £2,753,747,261 in the uk in 2015, i.e. £32,510 per prisoner. [10] in 2018-19, the total ministry of justice operating expenditure was £10 billion, with an income of £1.6 billion. [11] similar statistics in the us are even more alarming with criminal justice system expenditure in 2012 amounting to $210 billion. [12] such sums exemplify the huge social costs of crime, suggesting that the optimum level is close to nil, if not absolute zero., additionally, there are considerable social costs as consequences of crime, such as the lost output of crime victims. for example, in the uk, the average cost of lost productivity for violent crime victims is £2,060 (5 hours off work and 36 reduced productivity hours). [13] the same rationale can be used to estimate the social costs of crime regarding healthcare costs. for the same crime, average unit costs of healthcare amount to £920. [14] moreover, there are also large anticipatory and reactionary social costs, notably defensive precautions taken by potential victims. this includes a range of measures such as insurance, locks, doors, private cctv and alarms, with uk cost estimates ranging from £3bn to £4bn to around £25bn.’ [15] this allocation of resources to hinder crime naturally inflicts significant monetary and psychological costs to society, although it does provide employment and other economic benefits. similarly, resources used to commit a crime also represent costs to society. [16] [17] here, an opportunity cost dimension must be added to fully capture the argument. [18] principally, the criminals’ human and physical capital could have been utilised to contribute to the productive potential of the economy, creating potential social gains instead of inflicting high social costs through crime. this opportunity cost also includes the resources expended by potential victims to protect themselves from crime. the next best alternative may have been expenditure on goods and services to improve real living standards., however, it can also be argued that the socially efficient level of crime is relatively high because resources allocated towards prevention can generate an even greater burden on society than if some crimes were allowed to occur (mcp<msc). this is corroborated by friedman stating that ‘theft is inefficient, but spending $100 to prevent a $10 theft is more inefficient.’ [19] the following analysis can be divided into the high monetary and non-monetary costs of prevention., on a monetary level, such high costs would take the form of expenditure on human and physical resources such as enhanced police presence and surveillance. although this creates employment, an opportunity cost is still presented. in order to estimate the expenditure required to bring crime levels close to 0, the example of singapore can be used where high penalties are coupled with high policing expenditure of over $200 us per capita [20] to achieve a relatively low crime rate of 617 per 100,000 with an intentional homicide rate of 0.7 per 100,000. [21] [22] this also implies that innumerable resources would be required to achieve a point where crime was virtually nil, inflicting even greater social costs through taxation than the crimes themselves., non-monetary costs of prevention also suggest that the socially efficient level of crime is well above nil. these social costs focus on the infringements of citizens’ rights and liberties, such as freedom of assembly and movement, which would undoubtedly be restricted by a police state seeking extremely low levels of crime. a relevant example for this is the former gdr where the secret police crushed crime and dissent through ‘increased social control, draconian state sanctions and reduced opportunity structures.’ [23] however, this inevitably led to spiralling long-term social costs with recent articles stating that ‘memories of the police state continue to exact a profound psychological toll,’ even 30 years after german reunification. [24] as a consequence of the actions of the stasi, psychologists have diagnosed various conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression. [25] overall, this case study demonstrates how efforts to reduce crime to very low levels tend to lead to far greater social costs than those actually created by crimes themselves. this example shows the lasting harm of such measures. even if a more social-liberal rather than authoritarian approach was taken, as in scandinavian countries, whereby the incentive to commit crime is reduced through redistributive measures, costs would remain high and crime would probably persist. even today, economists argue that in the usa, ‘spending less on policing would increase social welfare. [26], however, the idea that prevention is better than cure can also be applied with regard to crime. although it is very difficult to calculate the social benefit stemming from preventative measures, a study of cctv (closed-circuit television) suggests that the trade-off between infringement on civil rights and liberties and reducing crime is not as great as commonly perceived. firstly, it is accepted that ‘cctv can, when properly implemented and monitored, be effective at reducing crime.’ [27] however, roman and farrell also argue that ‘there is evidence that cctv can be introduced without infringing upon people's freedoms.’ [28] similarly, the argument regarding the infringement on civil liberties is weakened by the fact that it is arguing ‘for a right to anonymously commit crime.’ [29] therefore, as technology develops, it can be argued that the trade-off between prevention and social costs created is becoming less applicable, suggesting that the socially efficient level will decrease in the long-term., secondly, it can be claimed that the socially efficient level of crime in some circumstances is perhaps surprisingly high, due to the potential social benefits. this is particularly significant in relation to redistributive crimes such as theft and fraud which are effectively transfer payments. from a utilitarian perspective, if some resources are reallocated from wealthier agents to poorer agents, then total utility for the overall population increases. this is explained by the law of diminishing marginal utility which states that less affluent agents have higher levels of marginal utility, i.e. an increase in their resources will dramatically improve living standards. if crime can have this effect, then this may be able to improve development outcomes. from a macroeconomic perspective, the transfer will increase consumption, a key component of aggregate demand (ad=c+i+g+(x-m)) (ad-ad1) due to poorer individuals’ higher marginal propensity to consume which could, in turn, lead to an expansion of gdp (y-y1). this suggests that a certain type and level of crime can lead to economic benefits. however, the net improvement is likely to be marginal and will reduce long-term consumption trends. from a microeconomic perspective, if a poor thief were more likely to purchase merit goods and the wealthy were more likely to buy demerit goods, then crime would be contributing to correcting market failures caused by negative externalities., however, redistributive crimes are also committed by prosperous individuals and firms through tax evasion. additionally, the proceeds of organised crime are unlikely to be invested in social capital but tend to be used to fund further crime. moreover, crimes such as counterfeiting, ‘theft by false pretenses,’ can have significant social costs such as resulting demand-pull inflation and the inefficient use of resources required for counterfeiting, undermining the redistributive effect. [30] at the core of the redistributive argument, which states that the private benefits to the criminal partially negate the private cost, lies the ethical dilemma that the ‘criminal’s illicit gain should not count as a social benefit.’ [31] furthermore, if crime is allowed to rise to dangerous levels, then the incentive to accumulate wealth legally may erode, increasing the risk of capital and labour flight, inflicting vast social costs. to summarise, it is inefficient to allow ‘pure coercive transfers of wealth.’ [32], however, social costs can be minimised in many cases by applying fines, the most common form of punishment used today. [33] primarily fines do not consume social resources, but act as a transfer payment. acting as a pigouvian tax, fines can internalise the externality and correct the inefficient outcomes caused by crime. this is illustrated by the diagram below, with the social optimum being: mpc+ fines = msc. moreover, fines may avoid an expensive prison system. ‘indeed, fines are so cheap to administer that they yield a profit to the state.’ [34] overall, this suggests that minor offences sanctioned by fines generate a small social cost, supporting the argument that the socially efficient level is greater than nil. alternatively, community service could be used more extensively to offset crime-induced social loss., however, the use of fines to determine a socially efficient level of crime is ethically questionable,  inflicting  potentially  long-term  social  costs  as  they  ‘permit  offences  to be bought  for  a  price.’ [35]  additionally,  debates arise as to how fines should be calculated, inevitably causing government failure and further inefficiencies. furthermore, some crimes are arguably ‘so heinous that no amount of money could compensate for the harm inflicted,’ making fines unsuitable. [36] this also exposes further difficulties when attempting to establish a socially efficient level as the value is wholly dependent on the types of crime committed. however,  while redistributive crimes can imply some inefficiencies,  so-called  ‘efficien crimes’ [37]  do exist, suggesting that the social optimum is not absolute zero. reasoned speeding is a common example used to justify this argument as there may be times where the potential cost of an accident is less than the benefits of speeding. however, this can be ethically doubtful, due to the subjectivity of this concept., overall, despite best attempts, crime is an inevitable social evil. hence, instead of devoting more resources to combat it, increasing the burden on the taxpayer, criminal law should ensure that crime delivers as few social costs as possible through efficient punishments or perhaps through the legalisation of some acts such as the possession and supply of class b drugs such as cannabis. accordingly, the socially efficient level of crime varies according to the offence, but is perhaps greater than commonly assumed, although it is impossible to give a conclusive value..

1 Friedman, D., n.d. Crime. [online] Econlib. Available at: <https:// www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Crime.html > [Accessed 30 April 2020].

2 Skogh, G. and Stuart, C., 1982. An Economic Analysis of Crime Rates, Punishment, and the Social Consequences of Crime. Public Choice, [online] 38(2), p.171. Available at: <https:// www.jstor.org/stable/30023585?seq=1 > [Accessed 30 April 2020].

3 Bohm, P., 1987. Social Efficiency: A Concise Introduction To Welfare Economics. 2nd ed. [ebook] London: Macmillan Education Ltd., p.xii. Available at: < https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/bfm%3A978-1-349-18786-7%2F1.pdf > [Accessed 30 April 2020].

4 Cooper, R. and Ulen, T., 2013. AN ECONOMIC THEORY OF CRIME AND PUNISHMENT CHAPTER 11. [ebook] Pearson, p.471. Available at: < http://web4.uwindsor.ca/users/m/mfc/41240.nsf/831fc2c71873e46285256d6e006c367a/10ff8b04ff3a317885256d88005720f6 $FILE/C&U4thchpt11.pdf> [Accessed 30 April 2020].

5 Ferraz, E. and Soares, R., 2018. Socially Optimal Crime And Punishment. [ebook] p.13. Available at: <https:// www.fea.usp.br/sites/default/files/anexoevento/socp_ferraz_soares.pdf > [Accessed 30 April 2020].

6 Posner, R., 1985. An Economic Theory of the Criminal Law. Columbia Law Review, [online] 85(6), p.1195. Available at: < https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6448/aee7b1aaa0785667ee8f0ba4fb7e9fe0a3c0.pdf >.

7 Becker, G., 1968. Crime and Punishment: An Economic Approach. Journal of Political Economy, [online] 76(2), p.207. Available at: < http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-3808(196803/04)76:2%3C169:CAPAEA%3E2.0.CO;2-I > [Accessed 30 April 2020].

8 Home Office, 2019. Police Funding For England & Wales 2015-2020 Statistical Bulletin. London, p.6.

9 Home Office, 2018. The Economic And Social Costs Of Crime Second Edition Research Report 99. London, p.58.

10 Ministry of Justice, 2016. Costs Per Place And Costs Per Prisoner By Individual Prison National Offender Management Service Annual Report And Accounts 2015-16 Management Information Addendum. London: Ministry of Justice Press Office, p.3.

11 House of Commons Library, 2019. The Spending Of The Ministry Of Justice Debate Pack. London, p.3.

12 Ferraz, E. and Soares, R., 2018. Socially Optimal Crime And Punishment. [ebook] p.1. Available at: <https:// www.fea.usp.br/sites/default/files/anexo-evento/socp_ferraz_soares.pdf > [Accessed 30 April 2020].

13 Home Office, 2018. The Economic And Social Costs Of Crime Second Edition Research Report 99. London, p.42.

14 Ibid. p.46.

15 Ibid. p.23.

16 Skogh, G. and Stuart, C., 1982. An Economic Analysis of Crime Rates, Punishment, and the Social Consequences of Crime. Public Choice, [online] 38(2), p.171. Available at: <https:// www.jstor.org/stable/30023585?seq=1 > [Accessed 30 April 2020].

18 Cooper, R. and Ulen, T., 2013. AN ECONOMIC THEORY OF CRIME AND PUNISHMENT CHAPTER 11. [ebook] Pearson, p 471. Available at: < http://web4.uwindsor.ca/users/m/mfc/41240.nsf/831fc2c71873e46285256d6e006c367a/10ff8b04ff3a317885256d88005720f6/ $FILE/C&U4thchpt11.pdf> [Accessed 30 April 2020].

19 Friedman, D., n.d. Crime. [online] Econlib. Available at: <https:// www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Crime.html > [Accessed 30 April 2020].

20 Farrell, G. and Clark, K., 2004. WHAT DOES THE WORLD SPEND ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE?. [ebook] Helsinki: The European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control, p.16. Available at: <https:// www.heuni.fi/material/attachments/heuni/papers/6KtlkZMtL/HEUNI_papers_20.pdf > [Accessed 13 May 2020].

22 Hirschmann, R., 2020. Singapore: Crime Rate 2019 | Statista. [online] Statista. Available at: <https:// www.statista.com/statistics/628339/crime-rates-in-singapore/ > [Accessed 13 May 2020].

23 Kury, H. and Smartt, U., 2001. The Changing Face Of Germany's Crime Rate Since Unification. [ebook] Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, p.47. Available at: <https:// www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/sites/crimeandjustice.org.uk/files/09627250108553673.pdf > [Accessed 30 April 2020].

24 Bailey, C., 2019. The Lingering Trauma of Stasi Surveillance. The Atlantic, [online] Available at: <https:// www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2019/11/lingering-trauma-east-german-police-state/601669/ > [Accessed 30 April 2020].

26 Ferraz, E. and Soares, R., 2018. Socially Optimal Crime And Punishment. [ebook] p.31. Available at: <https:// www.fea.usp.br/sites/default/files/anexo-evento/socp_ferraz_soares.pdf > [Accessed 30 April 2020].

27 Roman, J. and Farrell, G., n.d. COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS FOR CRIME PREVENTION: Opportunity Costs, Routine Savings And Crime Externalities. [ebook] pp.80, 81. Available at: < http://www.socialvalueuk.org/app/uploads/2016/03/cba%20for%20crim%20prevention.pdf > [Accessed 30 April 2020].

28 Roman, J. and Farrell, G., n.d. COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS FOR CRIME PREVENTION: Opportunity Costs, Routine Savings And Crime Externalities. [ebook] pp.80, 81. Available at: < http://www.socialvalueuk.org/app/uploads/2016/03/cba%20for%20crim%20prevention.pdf > [Accessed 30 April 2020].

30 Posner, R., 1985. An Economic Theory of the Criminal Law. Columbia Law Review, [online] 85(6), p.1198. Available at:

< https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6448/aee7b1aaa0785667ee8f0ba4fb7e9fe0a3c0.pdf

31 Cooper, R. and Ulen, T., 2013. AN ECONOMIC THEORY OF CRIME AND PUNISHMENT CHAPTER 11. [ebook] Pearson,

p.471. Available at: < http://web4.uwindsor.ca/users/m/mfc/41-240.nsf/831fc2c71873e46285256d6e006c367a/10ff8b04ff3a317885256d88005720f6/

$FILE/C&U4thchpt11.pdf> [Accessed 30 April 2020].

32 Posner, R., 1985. An Economic Theory of the Criminal Law. Columbia Law Review, [online] 85(6), p.1196. Available at: < https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6448/aee7b1aaa0785667ee8f0ba4fb7e9fe0a3c0.pdf

33 Becker, G., 1968. Crime and Punishment: An Economic Approach. Journal of Political Economy, [online] 76(2), p.193. Available at: < http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-3808(196803/04)76:2%3C169:CAPAEA%3E2.0.CO;2-I > [Accessed 30 April 2020].

34 Cooper, R. and Ulen, T., 2013. AN ECONOMIC THEORY OF CRIME AND PUNISHMENT CHAPTER 11. [ebook] Pearson, p.474. Available at: < http://web4.uwindsor.ca/users/m/mfc/41-240.nsf/831fc2c71873e46285256d6e006c367a/10ff8b04ff3a317885256d88005720f6/

35 Becker, G., 1968. Crime and Punishment: An Economic Approach. Journal of Political Economy, [online] 76(2), p.196. Available at: < http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-3808(196803/04)76:2%3C169:CAPAEA%3E2.0.CO;2-I > [Accessed 30 April 2020].

37 Friedman, D., n.d. David Friedman, Price Theory: Chapter 20: The Economics Of Law And Law Breaking. [online] Daviddfriedman.com. Available at:

< http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Academic/Price_Theory/PThy_Chapter_20/PThy_Chapter_20.html > [Accessed 30 April 2020].

Bibliography

Becker, G., 1968. C rime and Punishment: An Economic Approach. Journal of Political Economy, [online] 76(2), pp.191, 193, 196, 207. Available at:

< http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-3808(196803/04)76:2%3C169:CAPAEA%3E2.0.CO;2-I > [Accessed 30 April 2020].

Bohm, P., 1987. Social Efficiency: A Concise Introduction To Welfare Economics. 2nd ed. [ebook] London: Macmillan Education Ltd., p.xii. Available at:

< https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/bfm%3A978-1-349-18786-7%2F1.pdf > [Accessed 30 April 2020].

Cooper, R. and Ulen, T., 2013. AN ECONOMIC THEORY OF CRIME AND PUNISHMENT CHAPTER  11. [ebook] Pearson, pp.445, 47, 474. Available at:

< http://web4.uwindsor.ca/users/m/mfc/41-240.nsf/831fc2c71873e46285256d6e006c367a/10ff8b04ff3 a317885256d88005720f6/$FILE/C&U4thchpt11.pdf> [Accessed 30 April 2020].

Farrell, G. and Clark, K., 2004. WHAT DOES THE WORLD SPEND ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE?.  [ebook] Helsinki: The European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control, p.16. Available at:

<https ://www.heuni.fi/material/attachments/heuni/papers/6KtlkZMtL/HEUNI_papers_20.pdf > [Accessed 13 May 2020].

Ferraz, E. and Soares, R., 2018. Socially Optimal Crime And Punishment. [ebook] pp.1, 2, 13, 31. Available at: <https ://www.fea.usp.br/sites/default/files/anexo-evento/socp_ferraz_soares.pdf > [Accessed 30 April 2020].

Friedman, D., n.d. Crime. [online] Econlib. Available at:  <https ://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Crime.html > [Accessed 30 April 2020].

Friedman, D., n.d. David Friedman, Price Theory: Chapter 20: The Economics Of Law And Law Breaking. [online] Daviddfriedman.com. Available at:

Hirschmann, R., 2020. Singapore: Crime Rate 2019 | Statista. [online] Statista. Available at:  <https ://www.statista.com/statistics/628339/crime-rates-in-singapore/ > [Accessed 13 May 2020].

Home Office, 2019. Police Funding For England & Wales 2015-2020 Statistical Bulletin. London, p.6.

Home Office, 2018. The Economic And Social Costs Of Crime Second Edition Research Report 99. London, pp. 23, 42, 46.

House of Commons Library, 2019. The Spending Of The Ministry Of Justice Debate Pack. London, p.3.

Ministry of Justice, 2016. Costs Per Place And Costs Per Prisoner By Individual Prison National Offender Management Service Annual Report And Accounts 2015-16 Management Information Addendum. London: Ministry of Justice Press Office, p.3.

Posner, R., 1985. An Economic Theory of the Criminal Law. Columbia Law Review, [online] 85(6), pp.1195, 1196, 1198. Available at:  < https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6448/aee7b1aaa0785667ee8f0ba4fb7e9fe0a3c0.pdf

Roman, J. and Farrell, G., n.d. COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS FOR CRIME PREVENTION: Opportunity Costs, Routine Savings And Crime Externalities. [ebook] pp.80, 81. Available at:

< http://www.socialvalueuk.org/app/uploads/2016/03/cba%20for%20crim%20prevention.pdf > [Accessed 30 April 2020].

Skogh, G. and Stuart, C., 1982. An Economic Analysis of Crime Rates, Punishment, and the Social Consequences of Crime. Public Choice, [online] 38(2), p.171. Available at:

<https ://www.jstor.org/stable/30023585?seq=1 > [Accessed 30 April 2020].

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• 12 min read

The Ultimate Guide to the John Locke Essay Competition

Humanities and social sciences students often lack the opportunities to compete at the global level and demonstrate their expertise. Competitions like ISEF, Science Talent Search, and MIT Think are generally reserved for students in fields like biology, physics, and chemistry.

At Lumiere, many of our talented non-STEM students, who have a flair for writing are looking for ways to flex their skills. In this piece, we’ll go over one such competition - the John Locke Essay Competition. If you’re interested in learning more about how we guide students to win essay contests like this, check out our main page .

What is the John Locke Essay Competition?

The essay competition is one of the various programs conducted by the John Locke Institute (JLI) every year apart from their summer and gap year courses. To understand the philosophy behind this competition, it’ll help if we take a quick detour to know more about the institute that conducts it.

Founded in 2011, JLI is an educational organization that runs summer and gap year courses in the humanities and social sciences for high school students. These courses are primarily taught by academics from Oxford and Princeton along with some other universities. The organization was founded by Martin Cox. Our Lumiere founder, Stephen, has met Martin and had a very positive experience. Martin clearly cares about academic rigor.

The institute's core belief is that the ability to evaluate the merit of information and develop articulate sound judgments is more important than merely consuming information. The essay competition is an extension of the institute - pushing students to reason through complex questions in seven subject areas namely Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology, and Law​.

The organization also seems to have a strong record of admissions of alumni to the top colleges in the US and UK. For instance, between 2011 and 2022, over half of John Locke alumni have gone on to one of eight colleges: Chicago, Columbia, Georgetown, Harvard, Pennsylvania, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale.

How prestigious is the John Locke Contest?

The John Locke Contest is a rigorous and selective writing competition in the social sciences and humanities. While it is not as selective as the Concord Review and has a much broader range of students who can receive prizes, it is still considered a highly competitive program.

Winning a John Locke essay contest will have clear benefits for you in your application process to universities and would reflect well on your application. On the other hand, a shortlist or a commendation might not have a huge impact given that it is awarded to many students (more on this later).

What is the eligibility for the contest?

Students, of any country, who are 18 years old or younger before the date of submission can submit. They also have a junior category for students who are fourteen years old, or younger, on the date of the submission deadline.

Who SHOULD consider this competition?

We recommend this competition for students who are interested in social sciences and humanities, in particular philosophy, politics, and economics. It is also a good fit for students who enjoy writing, want to dive deep into critical reasoning, and have some flair in their writing approach (more on that below).

While STEM students can of course compete, they will have to approach the topics through a social science lens. For example, in 2021, one of the prompts in the division of philosophy was, ‘Are there subjects about which we should not even ask questions?’ Here, students of biology can comfortably write about topics revolving around cloning, gene alteration, etc, however, they will have to make sure that they are able to ground this in the theoretical background of scientific ethics and ethical philosophy in general.

Additional logistics

Each essay should address only one of the questions in your chosen subject category, and must not exceed 2000 words (not counting diagrams, tables of data, footnotes, bibliography, or authorship declaration).

If you are using an in-text-based referencing format, such as APA, your in-text citations are included in the word limit.

You can submit as many essays as you want in any and all categories. (We recommend aiming for only one given how time-consuming it can be to come up with a single good-quality submission)

Important dates

Prompts for the 2023 competition will be released in January 2023. Your submission will be due around 6 months later in June. Shortlisted candidates will be notified in mid-July which will be followed by the final award ceremony in September.

How much does it cost to take part?

What do you win?

A scholarship that will offset the cost of attending a course at the JLI. The amount will vary between $2000 and $10,000 based on whether you are a grand prize winner (best essay across all categories) or a subject category winner. (JLI programs are steeply-priced and even getting a prize in your category would not cover the entire cost of your program. While the website does not mention the cost of the upcoming summer program, a different website mentions it to be 3,000 GBP or 3600 USD)

If you were shortlisted, most probably, you will also receive a commendation certificate and an invitation to attend an academic ceremony at Oxford. However, even here, you will have to foot the bill for attending the conference, which can be a significant one if you are an international student.

How do you submit your entry?

You submit your entry through the website portal that will show up once the prompts for the next competition are up in January! You have to submit your essay in pdf format where the title of the pdf attachment should read SURNAME, First Name, Category, and Question Number (e.g. POPHAM, Alexander, Psychology, Q2).

What are the essay prompts like?

We have three insights here.

Firstly, true to the spirit of the enlightenment thinker it is named after, most of the prompts have a philosophical bent and cover ethical, social, and political themes. In line with JLI’s general philosophy, they force you to think hard and deeply about the topics they cover. Consider a few examples to understand this better:

“Are you more moral than most people you know? How do you know? Should you strive to be more moral? Why or why not?” - Philosophy, 2021

“What are the most important economic effects - good and bad - of forced redistribution? How should this inform government policy?” - Economics, 2020

“Why did the Jesus of Nazareth reserve his strongest condemnation for the self-righteous?” - Theology, 2021

“Should we judge those from the past by the standards of today? How will historians in the future judge us?” - History, 2021

Secondly, at Lumiere, our analysis is that most of these prompts are ‘deceptively rigorous’ because the complexity of the topic reveals itself gradually. The topics do not give you a lot to work with and it is only when you delve deeper into one that you realize the extent to which you need to research/read more. In some of the topics, you are compelled to define the limits of the prompt yourself and in turn, the scope of your essay. This can be a challenging exercise. Allow me to illustrate this with an example of the 2019 philosophy prompt.

“Aristotelian virtue ethics achieved something of a resurgence in the twentieth century. Was this progress or retrogression?”

Here you are supposed to develop your own method for determining what exactly constitutes progress in ethical thought. This in turn involves familiarizing yourself with existing benchmarks of measurement and developing your own method if required. This is a significant intellectual exercise.

Finally, a lot of the topics are on issues of contemporary relevance and especially on issues that are contentious . For instance, in 2019, one of the prompts for economics was about the benefits and costs of immigration whereas the 2020 essay prompt for theology was about whether Islam is a religion of peace . As we explain later, your ‘opinion’ here can be as ‘outrageous’ as you want it to be as long as you are able to back it up with reasonable arguments. Remember, the JLI website clearly declares itself to be, ‘ not a safe space, but a courteous one ’.

How competitive is the JLI Essay Competition?

In 2021, the competition received 4000 entries from 101 countries. Given that there is only one prize winner from each category, this makes this a very competitive opportunity. However, because categories have a different number of applicants, some categories are more competitive than others. One strategy to win could be to focus on fields with fewer submissions like Theology.

There are also a relatively significant number of students who receive commendations called “high commendation.” In the psychology field, for example, about 80 students received a commendation in 2022. At the same time, keep in mind that the number of students shortlisted and invited to Oxford for an academic conference is fairly high and varies by subject. For instance, Theology had around 50 people shortlisted in 2021 whereas Economics had 238 . We, at Lumiere, estimate that approximately 10% of entries of each category make it to the shortlisting stage.

How will your essay be judged?

The essays will be judged on your understanding of the discipline, quality of argumentation and evidence, and writing style. Let’s look at excerpts from various winning essays to see what this looks like in practice.

Level of knowledge and understanding of the relevant material: Differentiating your essay from casual musing requires you to demonstrate knowledge of your discipline. One way to do that is by establishing familiarity with relevant literature and integrating it well into their essay. The winning essay of the 2020 Psychology Prize is a good example of how to do this: “People not only interpret facts in a self-serving way when it comes to their health and well-being; research also demonstrates that we engage in motivated reasoning if the facts challenge our personal beliefs, and essentially, our moral valuation and present understanding of the world. For example, Ditto and Liu showed a link between people’s assessment of facts and their moral convictions” By talking about motivated reasoning in the broader literature, the author can show they are well-versed in the important developments in the field.

Competent use of evidence: In your essay, there are different ways to use evidence effectively. One such way involves backing your argument with results from previous studies . The 2020 Third Place essay in economics shows us what this looks like in practice: “Moreover, this can even be extended to PTSD, where an investigation carried out by Italian doctor G. P. Fichera, led to the conclusion that 13% of the sampling units were likely to have this condition. Initiating economic analysis here, this illustrates that the cost of embarking on this unlawful activity, given the monumental repercussions if caught, is not equal to the costs to society...” The study by G.P. Fichera is used to strengthen the author’s claim on the social costs of crime and give it more weight.

Structure, writing style, and persuasive force: A good argument that is persuasive rarely involves merely backing your claim with good evidence and reasoning. Delivering it in an impactful way is also very important. Let’s see how the winner of the 2020 Law Prize does this: “Slavery still exists, but now it applies to women and its name in prostitution”, wrote Victor Hugo in Les Misérables. Hugo’s portrayal of Fantine under the archetype of a fallen woman forced into prostitution by the most unfortunate of circumstances cannot be more jarringly different from the empowerment-seeking sex workers seen today, highlighting the wide-ranging nuances associated with commercial sex and its implications on the women in the trade. Yet, would Hugo have supported a law prohibiting the selling of sex for the protection of Fantine’s rights?” The use of Victor Hugo in the first line of the essay gives it a literary flair and enhances the impact of the delivery of the argument. Similarly, the rhetorical question, in the end, adds to the literary dimension of the argument. Weaving literary and argumentative skills in a single essay is commendable and something that the institute also recognizes.

Quality of argumentation: Finally, the quality of your argument depends on capturing the various elements mentioned above seamlessly . The third place in theology (2020) does this elegantly while describing bin-Laden’s faulty and selective use of religious verses to commit violence: “He engages in the decontextualization and truncation of Qur'anic verses to manipulate and convince, which dissociates the fatwas from bonafide Islam. For example, in his 1996 fatwa, he quotes the Sword verse but deliberately omits the aforementioned half of the Ayat that calls for mercy. bin-Laden’s intention is not interpretive veracity, but the indoctrination of his followers.” The author’s claim is that bin-Laden lacks religious integrity and thus should not be taken seriously, especially given the content of his messages. To strengthen his argument, he uses actual incidents to dissect this display of faulty reasoning.

These excerpts are great examples of the kind of work you should keep in mind when writing your own draft.

6 Winning Tips from Lumiere

Focus on your essay structure and flow: If logic and argumentation are your guns in this competition, a smooth flow is your bullet. What does a smooth flow mean? It means that the reader should be able to follow your chain of reasoning with ease. This is especially true for essays that explore abstract themes. Let’s see this in detail with the example of a winning philosophy essay. “However, if society were the moral standard, an individual is subjected to circumstantial moral luck concerning whether the rules of the society are good or evil (e.g., 2019 Geneva vs. 1939 Munich). On the other hand, contracts cannot be the standard because people are ignorant of their being under a moral contractual obligation, when, unlike law, it is impossible to be under a contract without being aware. Thus, given the shortcomings of other alternatives, human virtue is the ideal moral norm.” To establish human virtue as the ideal norm, the author points out limitations in society and contracts, leaving out human virtue as the ideal one. Even if you are not familiar with philosophy, you might still be able to follow the reasoning here. This is a great example of the kind of clarity and logical coherence that you should strive for.

Ground your arguments in a solid theoretical framework : Your essay requires you to have well-developed arguments. However, these arguments need to be grounded in academic theory to give them substance and differentiate them from casual opinions. Let me illustrate this with an example of the essay that won second place in the politics category in 2020. “Normatively, the moral authority of governments can be justified on a purely associative basis: citizens have an inherent obligation to obey the state they were born into. As Dworkin argued, “Political association, like family or friendship and other forms of association more local and intimate, is itself pregnant of obligation” (Dworkin). Similar to a family unit where children owe duties to their parents by virtue of being born into that family regardless of their consent, citizens acquire obligations to obey political authority by virtue of being born into a state.” Here, the author is trying to make a point about the nature of political obligation. However, the core of his argument is not the strength of his own reasoning, but the ability to back his reasoning with prior literature. By quoting Dworkin, he includes important scholars of western political thought to give more weight to his arguments. It also displays thorough research on the part of the author to acquire the necessary intellectual tools to write this paper.

The methodology is more important than the conclusion: The 2020 history winners came to opposite conclusions in their essays on whether a strong state hampers or encourages economic growth. While one of them argued that political strength hinders growth when compared to laissez-faire, the other argues that the state is a prerequisite for economic growth . This reflects JLI’s commitment to your reasoning and substantiation instead of the ultimate opinion. The lesson: Don’t be afraid to be bold! Just make sure you are able to back it up.

Establish your framework well: A paragraph (or two) that is able to succinctly describe your methodology, core arguments, and the reasoning behind them displays academic sophistication. A case in point is the introduction of 2019’s Philosophy winner: “To answer the question, we need to construct a method that measures progress in philosophy. I seek to achieve this by asserting that, in philosophy, a certain degree of falsification is achievable. Utilizing philosophical inquiry and thought experiments, we can rationally assess the logical validity of theories and assign “true” and “false” status to philosophical thoughts. With this in mind, I propose to employ the fourth process of the Popperian model of progress…Utilizing these two conditions, I contend that Aristotelian virtue ethics was progress from Kantian ethics and utilitarianism.” Having a framework like this early on gives you a blueprint for what is in the essay and makes it easier for the reader to follow the reasoning. It also helps you as a writer since distilling down your core argument into a paragraph ensures that the first principles of your essay are well established.

Read essays of previous winners: Do this and you will start seeing some patterns in the winning essays. In economics, this might be the ability to present a multidimensional argument and substantiating it with data-backed research. In theology, this might be your critical analysis of religious texts .

Find a mentor: Philosophical logic and argumentation are rarely taught at the high school level. Guidance from an external mentor can fill this academic void by pointing out logical inconsistencies in your arguments and giving critical feedback on your essay. Another important benefit of having a mentor is that it will help you in understanding the heavy literature that is often a key part of the writing/research process in this competition. As we have already seen above, having a strong theoretical framework is crucial in this competition. A mentor can make this process smoother.

Lumiere Research Scholar Program

If you’re looking for a mentor to do an essay contest like John Locke or want to build your own independent research paper, then consider applying to the Lumiere Research Scholar Program . Last year over 2100 students applied for about 500 spots in the program. You can find the application form here.

You can see our admission results here for our students.

Manas is a publication strategy associate at Lumiere Education. He studied public policy and interactive media at NYU and has experience in education consulting.

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2024 John Locke Essay Competition Prompts: The Incredible, Transformative Power of the John Locke Institute Essay Competition

We’ve written about the John Locke Institute Essay Competition (JLIEC) before , discussing the basics of the competition, and how it can improve your chances of college admissions, and shared the success of Ivy-Way students shortlisted for the Junior and regular Essay Competition. In general, the goal of the JLIEC is to encourage “independent thought, depth of knowledge, clear reasoning, critical analysis and persuasive style.” For the uninitiated, here’s the breakdown of the basic information:

You can get the latest information and deadlines, submission guidelines, and questions for each subject directly from the JLI’s website . 

Given that the JLIEC prompts for 2024 just came out on February 13, 2024, we thought we would revisit the topic in the form of Q&A. We’ve tried not to cover the same ground we’ve covered before so please take a look at our previous post if you still have questions.

Should you consider writing an essay for the John Locke Institute Essay Competition?

If you have any interest in the liberal arts (humanities or social science), especially one of the seven subject categories of the competition (Economics, History, Law, Philosophy, Politics, Psychology, and Theology), Ivy-Way counselors often recommend our students to submit an essay to the John Locke Institute Essay Competition . It’s also a great opportunity for anyone who has even a passing interest in writing.

Why? Regardless of whether you receive a commendation, the process of responding to one of the essay prompts will deepen your understanding of the subject and give you practice in writing a research-based argumentative essay (a common college assignment). Besides, the prompts are interesting; you’ll be sure to learn something useful for you personally, and when you are applying to colleges, you may find that skills and insights gained by writing for the competition will make your applications stand out. Most of the students we’ve guided through the process have reported that it was an incredible, transformative experience. They felt like they became better writers and more critical thinkers. 

What are the prompts like?

All of the prompts have something of a philosophical bent (not just the philosophy prompts). They challenge you to apply concepts from different fields to analyze contemporary and hypothetical scenarios. Take a look at this sample from the 2023 prompts to see what we mean:

• “A government funds its own expenditure by taxing its population. Suppose, instead, it relied solely on money newly created by the central bank? What would be the advantages and/or disadvantages?” Economics-1
• “In what sense are you the same person today that you were when you were ten?” Philosophy-2
• “Which characteristics distinguish successful movements for social change from unsuccessful ones?” History-3
• “If China becomes the leading superpower, what would that mean for the people who live there? What would it mean for everyone else?” Politics-2

What are the prompts for 2024?

• What is the optimal global population?
• Accurate news reporting is a public good. Does it follow that news agencies should be funded from taxation?
• Do successful business people benefit others when making their money, when spending it, both, or neither?
• Why was sustained economic growth so rare before the later 18th century and why did this change?
• Has music ever significantly changed the course of history?
• Why do civilisations collapse? Is our civilisation in danger?
• When, if ever, should a company be permitted to refuse to do business with a person because of that person’s public statements?
• In the last five years British police have arrested several thousand people for things they posted on social media. Is the UK becoming a police state?
• Your parents say that 11pm is your bedtime. But they don’t punish you if you don’t go to bed by 11pm. Is 11pm really your bedtime?
• Do we have any good reasons to trust our moral intuition?
• Do girls have a right to compete in sporting contests that exclude boys?
• Should I be held responsible for what I believe?
• Is there such a thing as too much democracy?
• Is peace in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip possible?
• When is compliance complicity?
• According to a study by four British universities, for each 16-point increase in IQ, the likelihood of getting married increases by 35% for a man but decreases by 40% for a woman. Why?
• There is an unprecedented epidemic of depression and anxiety among young people. Can we fix this? How?
• What is the difference between a psychiatric illness and a character flaw?
• “I am not religious, but I am spiritual.” What could the speaker mean by “spiritual”?
• Is it reasonable to thank God for protection from some natural harm if He is responsible for causing the harm?
• Does God reward those who believe in him? If so, why?

Junior Prize

• Does winning a free and fair election automatically confer a mandate for governing?
• Has the anti-racism movement reduced racism?
• Is there life after death?
• How did it happen that governments came to own and run most high schools, while leaving food production to private enterprise? 
• When will advancing technology make most of us unemployable? What should we do about this?
• Should we trust fourteen-year-olds to make decisions about their own bodies?

How do you get started?

First, you’ll want to start by researching the topic and critically evaluating different viewpoints before constructing your own argument. The prompts don’t give you much to work with. In most cases, you’ll have to define some terms and set the limits of the scope of the argument you want to make. You’ll need to use evidence to support your plans, and students often find a writing research mentor at Ivy-Way to help them choose the best prompt and brainstorm the evidence.

Taking the economics prompt above–about government funding through money creation rather than taxation–as an example, you could start with an overview of monetary policy and the role of central banks in managing a country’s money supply. Then you need to present both advantages and disadvantages: the benefits of economic stimulus by avoiding direct taxation against the long-term risks of inflation and potential laws of confidence in the currency. You could use historical examples and economic theories to support your analysis. 

Second, you’ll also need to consider potential counter-arguments. Using the philosophy prompt above about the continuity of the self, you might argue that personal identity persists over time through the continuity of consciousness. You are the same person as you were at ten because of your continuous psychological experiences, memories, and sense of self that you can trace back to your younger self. The counterargument is that personal identity is not fixed due to physical changes. Consider the Ship of Theseus argument applied to the human body: cells, tissues, and organs rejuvenate periodically and over a 7 to 10-year period your entire body has completely regenerated. The person you are today differs significantly from who you were at ten due to physical development and biological processes. Dramatic physical changes challenge the notion of a singular, unchanging identity.

Finally, you must ensure your essay is coherent, well-structured, and persuasive. From start to finish the entire task is somewhat complex and probably best done with some help from an experienced advisor.

Where can you find past essay winners?

One of the best ways to prepare to write your own essay is to read past winning essays and use them as “mentor texts” (as the NY Times editors refer to them). Mentor texts are “pieces of literature that you…can return to and reread for many different purposes. They are texts to be studied and imitated…” (the National Writing Project ). The point of mentor texts is to learn to craft your own essay by discovering the moves the writers make and how they effectively make your own argument.

You can find a selection of past essay winners on JLI’s website . There are eight winning essays on that page, from first to third prize from 2021 to 2023, including 2023’s grand prize winner. That’s a fairly limited collection of essays. Here are some other winning essays you can use as mentor texts:

Economics – 2020 First Prize . Prompt: “What is the socially efficient level of crime?”

Law – 2020 First Prize . Prompt: “Does a law that prohibits the selling of sex protect or infringe women’s rights?”

History – 2020 First Prize . Prompt: “How is the modern world different from previous periods of history and why did it come into existence when and where it did?”

Theology – 2020 First Prize . Prompt: “Many people have committed acts, execrated and deplored by others, in obedience to sincerely held beliefs. Can we reasonably ask anyone to do better than simply to obey his own conscience?”

Philosophy – 2020 Grand Prize . Prompt: “Is intuition to philosophy as observation is to science?”

Politics – 2020 First Prize . Prompt: “American citizens give away more than $300 billion each year in charitable donations. Only a tiny fraction of this (less than 0.001%) is donated to federal, state, and local governments. Politicians claim that they spend taxpayers’ money efficiently, to accomplish the most good with the budgets at their disposal. But if this were true wouldn’t governments be able to compete more successfully with private charities? What are the implications of your answer?”

Psychology – 2020 First Prize . Prompt: “Isn’t all reasoning (outside mathematics and formal logic) motivated reasoning?”

Junior Category – 2020 First Prize . Prompt: “Who should own your data? The companies with which you agree to share your data, everybody, just you, or nobody?”

What are some tips for crafting a successful essay?

• Read the question/prompt carefully. Make sure you understand what the question is asking and that you address all parts of it.
• Demonstrate familiarity with relevant theories. Others have written about the question at hand. Find some authors (through research, of course) that you find particularly convincing or unconvincing.
• Figure out what you want to argue and write a thesis. You are writing to convince the reader. Keep that reader in mind throughout.
• Use evidence effectively. You’ll need to show how you arrived at your claim from the evidence you examined. Evidence may include quotations, paraphrasing, data, graphs, or primary sources. It’s not enough just to state some evidence: you’ll need to analyze it and explicitly connect it to your claim. 
• Think of alternative answers to your question and anticipate objections. Offering and analyzing evidence that supports your thesis isn’t enough. You need to consider the arguments that readers can raise to challenge your thesis and explain why your argument is stronger than the alternatives.
• Make sure your essay has a clear logical flow. When you have strong clear paragraphs, you guide the reader through your argument by showing how each point fits to your thesis. 
• End with a conclusion. The form of the conclusion varies depending on the nature of the essay you’ve written. But in general, you should conclude by stating “what” you have said, explaining the “so what” (why the reader should care), and end with the “now what,” some insight or new way to understand the question that results from reading your essay.

Take a look at Lumiere’s excellent article for additional tips along with illustrative examples. Their writing tips include: focusing on essay structure, grounding arguments in theory, being bold in conclusions, and seeking mentorship for guidance in logic and argumentation.

How competitive is it? To what extent can the JLIEC boost my chances of college admissions?

It’s fairly competitive. Each year 1,000s of entries are submitted from over 100 countries. About 10% of essays for each category are shortlisted and considered for a prize. Shortlisted candidates are also invited to Oxford for the award ceremony. There are three prizes for each of the seven categories one of which is chosen as the overall best essay, so 21 prizes not counting the junior category winners.

That being said, some subjects are more popular and receive more submissions. In 21, Theology had about 50 people on the shortlist while Economics had over 200 . So one strategy might be to submit for a category that has fewer entries. However, given how long it takes to research and write one of these essays (weeks at least), you might be better off just choosing a topic that genuinely interests you.

Recent winners of the grand prize have gone to essays in Philosophy (2023), Economics (2022), Law (2021), Philosophy (2020), and Economics (2019).

As to how much of a boost it gives your college application, it will certainly demonstrate your abilities to conduct research, engage with complex ideas, and articulate a well-reasoned argument. All of these are considered valuable by admissions officers at elite universities. Over half of the John Locke alumni enrolled in just eight universities: Chicago, Columbia, Georgetown, Harvard, Pennsylvania, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale.

Final Thoughts

The John Locke Institute Essay Competition is a great opportunity for you to practice your research and writing skills and gain some insight into a subject that you’re interested in. It also has the potential to help you develop as a critical thinker and demonstrate your curiosity and creativity. And, of course, it will make your college application stronger.

If you’re looking for a mentor for the John Locke competition or want to do your own independent research, consider applying to Ivy-Way’s Research Mentor Program.

Harvard College Writing Center, “Strategies for Essay Writing”

Manas Pant, “The Ultimate Guide to the John Locke Essay Competition,” Lumiere Education.

Dr. R.J. is a writer, editor, teacher, and academic coach & consultant. He's a devotee of speculative fiction, especially stories involving spaceships, robots, time travel, and/or laser swords. He currently works at Ivy-Way Academy helping students achieve their full academic potential.

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Everything You Should Know about the John Locke Institute (JLI) Essay Competition

By Jin Chow

Co-founder of Polygence, Forbes 30 Under 30 for Education

3 minute read

We first wrote about the world-famous John Locke Institute (JLI) Essay Competition in our list of 20 writing contests for high school students . This contest is a unique opportunity to refine your argumentation skills on fascinating and challenging topics that aren’t explored in the classroom.

The Oxford philosopher, medical doctor, political scientist, and economist John Locke was a big believer in challenging old habits of the mind. In that spirit, the JLI started this contest to challenge students to be more adventurous in their thinking. 

While not quite as prestigious as getting published in The Concord Review , winning the grand prize or placing in one of the 7 categories of the John Locke Essay Competition can get your college application noticed by top schools like Princeton, Harvard, Oxford, and Cambridge. Awards include $2,000 scholarships (for category prize winners) and a $10,000 scholarship for the grand prize. (The scholarships can be applied to the JLI’s Summer Schools at Oxford University, Princeton University, or Washington DC, or to its Gap Year programs in Oxford University, Guatemala, or Washington DC) 

But winning isn’t necessarily the best thing about it. Simply entering the contest and writing your essay will give you a profound learning experience like no other. Add to that the fact that your entry will be read and possibly commented on by some of the top minds at Oxford and Princeton University and it’s free to enter the competition. The real question is: why wouldn’t you enter? Here’s a guide to get you started on your essay contest entry.

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Eligibility

The John Locke Institute Essay Competition is open to any high school student anywhere in the world, ages 15-18. Students 14 or under are eligible for the Junior prize. 

John Locke Essay Competition Topics

The essay questions change from year to year. You can choose from 7 different categories (Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology, and Law). Within each category, there are 3 intriguing questions you can pick from. When you’re debating which question to write about, here’s a tip. Choose whichever question excites, upsets, or gives you any kind of strong emotional response. If you’re passionate about a topic, it will come through in your research and your writing. If you have any lived experience on the subject, that also helps. 

There are some sample questions the 2023 contest for each of the seven JLI essay subject  categories and the Junior Prize (the questions change each year):

Philosophy: Is tax theft? 

Politics: Do the results of elections express the will of the people?

Economics: What would happen if we banned billionaires?  

History: Which has a bigger effect on history: the plans of the powerful or their mistakes?

Psychology: Can happiness be measured?

Theology: What distinguishes a small religion from a large cult?

Law: Are there too many laws?

Junior Prize: What, if anything, do your parents owe you?

John Locke Writing Contest Requirements

Your essay must not exceed 2,000 words (not counting diagrams, tables of data, endnotes, bibliography, or authorship declaration) and must address only one of the questions in your chosen subject category. No footnotes are allowed, but you may include in-text citations or endnotes. 

Timeline and Deadlines

January - New essay questions are released

April 1st - Registration opens

May 31st  - Registration deadline

June 30th - Essay submission deadline

We highly recommend you check the JLI website as soon as the new questions are released in January and start researching and writing as soon as you can after choosing your topic. You must register for the contest by the end of May. The deadline for the essay submission itself is at the end of June, but we also recommend that you submit it earlier in case any problems arise. If you start right away in January, you can have a few months to work on your essay. 

John Locke Institute Essay Competition Judging Criteria

While the JLI says that their grading system is proprietary, they do also give you this helpful paragraph that describes what they are looking for: “Essays will be judged on knowledge and understanding of the relevant material, the competent use of evidence, quality of argumentation, originality, structure, writing style and persuasive force. The very best essays are likely to be those which would be capable of changing somebody's mind. Essays which ignore or fail to address the strongest objections and counter-arguments are unlikely to be successful. Candidates are advised to answer the question as precisely and directly as possible.” (We’ve bolded important words to keep in mind.) 

You can also join the JLI mailing list (scroll to the bottom of that page) to get contest updates and to learn more about what makes for a winning essay.

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Research and Essay Writing Tactics

Give yourself a baseline. First, just write down all your thoughts on the subject without doing any research. What are your gut-level opinions? What about this particular question intrigued you the most? What are some counter-arguments you can think of right away? What you are trying to do here is identify holes in your knowledge or understanding of the subject. What you don’t know or are unsure about can guide your research. Be sure to find evidence to support all the things you think you already know. 

Create a reading/watching list of related books, interviews, articles, podcasts, documentaries, etc. that relate to your topic. Find references that both support and argue against your argument. Choose the most highly reputable sources you can find. You may need to seek out and speak to experts to help you locate the best sources. Read and take notes. Address those questions and holes in the knowledge you identified earlier. Also, continue to read widely and think about your topic as you observe the world from day to day. Sometimes unrelated news stories, literature, film, songs, and visual art can give you an unexpected insight into your essay question. Remember that c is a learning experience and that you are not going to have a rock-solid argument all at once.

Read past essays . These will give you a sense of the criteria judges are using to select winning work. These essays are meant to convince the judges of a very specific stance. The argument must be clear and must include evidence to support it. You will note that winning entries tend to get straight to the point, show an impressive depth of knowledge on the subject with citations to reputable sources, flow with excellent reasoning, and use precise language. They don’t include flowery digressions. Save that for a different type of writing.

Proof your work with a teacher or mentor if possible. Even though your argument needs to be wholly your own, it certainly helps to bounce ideas around with someone who cares about the topic. A teacher or mentor can help you explore different options if you get stuck and point you toward new resources. They can offer general advice and point out errors or weaknesses. Working with a teacher or mentor is important for another reason. When you submit your entry, you will be required to provide the email address of an “academic referee” who is familiar with your work. This should be teachers, mentors, or other faculty members who are not related to you.

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Another Provocative Flag Was Flown at Another Alito Home

The justice’s beach house displayed an “Appeal to Heaven” flag, a symbol carried on Jan. 6 and associated with a push for a more Christian-minded government.

The “Appeal to Heaven” flag flew outside the Alitos’ New Jersey vacation home last summer, along with a “2022” Phillies flag and a Long Beach Island flag. Credit...

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By Jodi Kantor ,  Aric Toler and Julie Tate

The reporters welcome tips about the Supreme Court at nytimes.com/tips

• May 22, 2024

Last summer, two years after an upside-down American flag was flown outside the Virginia home of Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., another provocative symbol was displayed at his vacation house in New Jersey, according to interviews and photographs.

This time, it was the “Appeal to Heaven” flag, which, like the inverted U.S. flag, was carried by rioters at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Also known as the Pine Tree flag, it dates back to the Revolutionary War, but largely fell into obscurity until recent years and is now a symbol of support for former President Donald J. Trump, for a religious strand of the “Stop the Steal” campaign and for a push to remake American government in Christian terms.

Three photographs obtained by The New York Times, along with accounts from a half-dozen neighbors and passers-by, show that the Appeal to Heaven flag was aloft at the Alito home on Long Beach Island in July and September of 2023. A Google Street View image from late August also shows the flag.

The photographs, each taken independently, are from four different dates. It is not clear whether the flag was displayed continuously during those months or how long it was flown overall.

Justice Alito declined to respond to questions about the beach house flag, including what it was intended to convey and how it comported with his obligations as a justice. The court also declined to respond.

In commenting for the Times report last week about the upside-down American flag at his Virginia home in 2021, Justice Alito said that it had been raised by his wife, Martha-Ann Alito, during a clash with a neighbor.

The revelation about that flag prompted concerns from legal scholars and ethicists, and calls from dozens of Democratic lawmakers that the justice recuse himself from cases related to Jan. 6. The news also drew criticism from some conservative politicians , including Senator Lindsey Graham, who said that displaying the inverted flag was “not good judgment.”

During the period the Appeal to Heaven flag was seen flying at the justice’s New Jersey house, a key Jan. 6 case arrived at the Supreme Court, challenging whether those who stormed the Capitol could be prosecuted for obstruction .

In coming weeks, the justices will rule on that case, which could scuttle some of the charges against Mr. Trump, as well as on whether he is immune from prosecution for actions he took while president. Their decisions will shape how accountable he can be held for trying to overturn the last presidential election and his chances at regaining the White House in the next one.

The disclosure about the new flag is troubling, several ethics experts said in interviews, because it ties Justice Alito more closely to symbols associated with the attempted election subversion on Jan. 6, and because it was displayed as the obstruction case was first coming for consideration by the court.

Judges are not supposed to give any impression of bias, yet the flag could be seen as telegraphing the Alitos’ views — and at a time when the justices were on the cusp of adopting a new ethics code . “We all have our biases, but the good judge fights against them,” said Charles Geyh, a law professor at Indiana University Bloomington. “When a judge celebrates his predispositions by hoisting them on a flag,” he added, “that’s deeply disturbing.”

Records show that the Alitos have owned the beach house since 2014, and he is a well-known presence in the waterfront community. Residents said they recalled seeing the justice last summer, though it is unclear how much time he spent there. Neighbors said that once they realized what the flag signified, they were surprised to see it displayed, particularly in a prominent spot where many boaters glide by. The six people who shared their accounts and photographs asked not to be identified because they didn’t want to antagonize a longtime neighbor. When The Times visited the house on Wednesday, the flagpole was bare.

Until about a decade ago, the Appeal to Heaven flag was mostly a historical relic. But since then it has been revived to represent “a theological vision of what the United States should be and how it should be governed,” said Matthew Taylor, a religion scholar at the Institute of Islamic, Christian and Jewish Studies. He is also the author of a forthcoming book tracing how a right-wing Christian author and speaker who repopularized the flag helped propel Mr. Trump’s attempt to overturn the election.

That figure, Dutch Sheets, has led a yearslong campaign to present the flag to political figures, including Sarah Palin , the former Alaska governor and vice-presidential pick, and an Indiana gubernatorial candidate whom Mr. Sheets wrapped in the flag at a recent rally. Republican members of Congress and state officials have displayed the flag as well, among them Doug Mastriano, a Pennsylvania state senator and a leader of the “Stop the Steal” campaign. The highest-ranking elected official known to show the flag is Representative Mike Johnson, who hung it at his office last fall shortly after becoming speaker of the House.

A spokesman for Mr. Johnson said that the speaker “has long appreciated the rich history of the flag, as it was first used by General George Washington during the Revolutionary War.” It was a gift, the spokesman said, from Pastor Dan Cummins, a guest chaplain for the House of Representatives.

Since its creation during the American Revolution, the flag has carried a message of defiance: The phrase “appeal to heaven” comes from the 17th-century philosopher John Locke, who wrote of a responsibility to rebel, even use violence, to overthrow unjust rule. “It’s a paraphrase for trial by arms,” Anthony Grafton, a historian at Princeton University, said in an interview. “The main point is that there’s no appeal, there’s no one else you can ask for help or a judgment.”

In 2013, Mr. Sheets, a prominent figure in a far-right evangelical movement that scholars have called the New Apostolic Reformation , discovered the nearly forgotten flag and made it the symbol of his ambitions to steep the country and the government in Christianity, he wrote in a 2015 book also titled “An Appeal to Heaven.”

“Rally to the flag,” he wrote. “God has resurrected it for such a time as this. Wave it outwardly: wear it inwardly. Appeal to heaven daily for a spiritual revolution that will knock out the Goliaths of our day.”

He placed the high court at the center of his mission. In 2015, the court’s ruling that states must allow same-sex marriage had galvanized the movement and helped it to grow. In a speech three years later, he said, “There’s no gate that has allowed more evil to enter our nation than that of the Supreme Court.”

But Mr. Sheets and fellow leaders described Justice Alito, the member of the court most committed to expanding the role of faith in public life, as their great hope: a vocal defender of religious liberty and opponent of the right to abortion and same-sex marriage.

“You can’t say that marriage is a union between one man and one woman,” the justice said in a 2020 speech . “Until very recently that’s what the vast majority of Americans thought. Now it’s considered bigotry,” he said, a point he had made strongly in his dissent to the ruling.

The religious leaders cast Mr. Trump as another of their heroes. A few weeks before the 2020 election, at a Las Vegas megachurch prayer service for his second term, a pastor from the group presented Mr. Trump with an “Appeal to Heaven” flag from the stage. When he lost, Mr. Sheets and a team of others formed an instant, ad hoc religious arm of the “Stop the Steal” campaign, blitzing swing state megachurches, broadcasting the services at each stop and drawing hundreds of thousands of viewers.

On Jan. 6, the “Appeal to Heaven” flag was prominent: at the Washington Monument, where throngs gathered to hear President Trump deliver a speech contesting the election results, and later above the angry mob that surrounded the Capitol. The flag was visible above clashes with law enforcement on the building’s west terrace, as rioters breached police lines underneath the scaffolding set up for President Biden’s inauguration, and finally, inside the building.

By that day, scholars say, the flag had become popular enough to sometimes be used by a few other groups, including militia members. But most often, they said, it is tied directly to Mr. Sheets, his contemporaries and adherents and their vision for a more Christian America.

Last October, soon after the flag was last documented at the Alito beach home, Mr. Sheets devoted a prayer session to the court, this time sounding triumphant. He cited the Dobbs decision, overturning the federal right to abortion, in which the majority decision had been written by Justice Alito.

“We have reached another phase in the process of shifting the Supreme Court,” he announced. Through the justices, he said, “God’s intent for institutions of government can now be fulfilled.”

Alan Feuer contributed reporting.

Jodi Kantor is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter and co-author of “She Said,” which recounts how she and Megan Twohey broke the story of sexual abuse allegations against Harvey Weinstein, helping to ignite the #MeToo movement.    Instagram • More about Jodi Kantor

Aric Toler is a reporter on the Visual Investigations team at The Times where he uses emerging techniques of discovery to analyze open source information. More about Aric Toler

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