 Locke’s epistemological positions in the Essay Concerning Human Understanding lead him to take education to be extremely important for his political philosophy. His attack on innate ideas increases the importance of giving children the right sort of education to help them get the right sorts of ideas. He also notes in the Essay that human beings govern themselves by a variety of different laws, the most practically efficacious of which is the “Law of Opinion or Reputation.” (Essay 2.28.10) Since people are often highly motivated to be well thought of by others, the moral standards that are operative within a society for allocating praise and blame are powerful and important. Ideally, these social norms will reinforce natural law and thus help stabilize political society. Locke’s educational writings suggest how children might be raised in such a way that they will be the sorts of citizens who function well in a liberal society (Tarcov 1984). Some think that Locke’s approach to education, which centers education within the family, gives the state too little influence over the formation of future citizens (Gutmann 1999), while others think Locke actually gives the state considerable power to regulate education (Tuckness 2010b).