Daniela Gobetti combines political theory with a history of political thought to question the conceptual conventions and tacit assumptions which surround the concept of private and public. Through a critical analysis of the conception of domestic relations developed by Natural Law theorists Locke and Hutcheson, Gobetti shows the ambivalence of the liberal distinction between private and public. Normatively upheld as essential for the good society, the distinction proves to proves to be built on shaky ground if the individualistic assumptions of Natural Law theory are to be taken seriously.