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John Locke's Purpose Of Government

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John Locke created theories that are the basis of the United States government. He hypothesized about what would happen if no government existed, and he said that all humans are born with the natural rights of life, liberty, and property. John Locke said that humans are all born with three natural rights, but he did not mention the right to quality of life, nor the government 's duty to protect it.
(Jack) In the We the People textbook it states that the state of nature is an imaginary place where no laws or governments exist (14). When John Locke created this theory he knew that if there was no government, things would get out of control. In the state of nature, people wouldn’t be able to protect their natural rights because there would be …show more content…

All people are born feeling entitled to quality of life, and they expect the government to provide it. For example, colonists that came to early America were free to do what they wanted, there was no laws specifically targeting them that prevented owning property, and their lives were not being threatened. However, they still had a revolution, for they believed the British king was, among other things, “imposing taxes without the consent of the people being taxed.” (“We the People”, 71) Being taxed does not violate any of Locke’s natural rights. As long as not all money is taken, the people may still purchase and keep property, gain economic benefits by planting more crops or not buying objects that are taxed, and their life and freedom does not get taken away. The colonists expecting better than this demonstrates that people have a fourth natural right, the right to quality of life. “According to Locke, the main purpose of government is to protect those natural rights that the individual cannot effectively protect in the state of nature.”-(We the People, 18). Quality of life could never exist without laws because people must feel safe to feel happy. This means quality of life is a natural human

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