Starting from the political crisis arising from the "clipping" of silver currency by monetary pirates in 17th-century England, Caffentzis opens out into an original and very provocative critique of John Locke's economic beliefs, his theories of language, and his philosophy of history and the state. Virtually all of the standard critical work on Locke is "undone" through Caffentzis' ampliative treatment - which also extends to intervene in the leading debates in the monetary theories of the present day.