John Locke would not think that democracy is a great principle of natural law but except in small groups. In Locke's perspective, people must freely consent to be governed - the thing is that no one will freely consent to have their natural rights violated - but pure democracy makes it too easy for a majority to impose laws on a majority that the majority would not consent. Locke claimed that men are naturally free and equal as part of the justification for understanding legitimate political government as the result of a social contract where people in the state of nature conditionally transfer some of their rights to the government in order to ensure the stable, comfortable enjoyment of their lives, liberty, and property. Since governments exist by the consent of the people in order to protect the rights of the people and promote the public good, governments that fail to do so can be resisted and replaced with new governments. Locke states in the Two Treatises that the power of the Government is limited to the public good. John locke …show more content…
His writings influenced Voltaire and Rousseau. Lastly, he signed the Declaration of Independence. He talked about how people are generally trustworthy and that the government should give people more freedom. The enlightenment concept that was represented by John Locke was that government should have limited powers. He did believe that the government should protect natural rights. Locke defended the proposition that government rests on popular consent and rebellion is permissible when government subverts the ends (the protection of life, liberty, and property) for which it is established. John Locke influence enlightenment thinkers by trying to determine what the limits of human understanding are. He believed that we can know that God exists and we are the creators of moral and political