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John Locke's Second Treatise Of Civil Government By Voltaire

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The main focus of the Enlightenment period was all about the idea of important changes in Europe. During the Enlightenment period, a group of properly educated people known as philosophers began coming up with different philosophies. These philosophies were thoughts of how to benefit the society of their daily life. Philosophers strongly believed in the right of people, freedom and equality for women. In order to benefit society they worked towards an effective government, economies, equality for women in daily life and politically, religious peace and freedom. John Locke believed that individual freedom was necessary for a good government. Locke was born in 1632 in England. At the time of his birth, England’s form of government was the definition of a monarchy. One thing Locke strongly believed was good government starts with individual freedom. From Locke’s Second Treatise of Civil Government “We must consider what state all men are naturally in, and that is, a state of perfect freedom to order their actions and dispose of their possessions and persons, as they think fit, within the bounds of the natural law of nature.” John Locke also supported human equality, a perfect state of freedom, laws of nature, and …show more content…

He became a prolific writer and eventually composed poems, novels, essays, and plays. Voltaire's view on religion in society was that if only one religion was to be allowed in England the government would possibly become unrestrained according to the Frenchman's work Letters Concerning the English Nation. Voltaire believed in a multitude of religions to keep all at peace with one another. Voltaire believed that people in society should have religious freedom and practice their religion freely. Voltaire and Locke’s views are very similar because both believed that the people should have individual freedom whether it be with government or

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According to Locke, a ruler gains their authority through the consent of those being governed. Additionally, he believed the government’s duty was to protect the natural rights of the people. The three natural rights Locke believed in were the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. America’s Founding Fathers used many of John Locke’s ideas when they were fabricating America’s first principles. For example, the Founding Fathers built off of Locke’s ideas of unalienable rights, the Social Contract, and limited government.

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John Locke was a 17th-century philosopher and political thinker who created the basis of republican government and inspired the Founders of the United States, in particular, Thomas Jefferson. In agreeance with Thomas Hobbes’s theory of the origins of government coming into existence due to mankind in the form of social contracts, he argued that since people created government it should thus do what the people demand and protect their rights. This is detailed in his famous work Second Treatise of Civil Government in which he argues that rulers are given power through consent of those governed and thus must protect their human rights, which he believed included life, liberty, and property. If government were to fail in protecting those rights, the people had the right to overthrow the existing government for one which would uphold order and provide and protect those rights. He also argued that government had immense power that could be abused and lead to dangerous outcomes such as controlling those governed.

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We The People Unit 1 Question 1 By: Sebastien, Dharen, Torger, Sophie, and Kallie (Sebastien) Many people know about John Locke and his view on government, but he might have had more to say. John Locke was an English philosopher who wrote about natural rights. John Locke believed that a form of government would be beneficial to the United States. This is because he thought the purpose of government is to protect the natural rights of citizens.

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He believes that citizens should be able to make their own choices towards their happiness and general well-being. He also believes that this freedom is a citizen’s natural right and should be granted to them. According to Locke, a government should be established as a way of preserving the rights of individuals. Locke felt that if the government overstepped its boundaries or abused its power, then the citizens would have every right to rebel. The argument in support of the divine right of monarchs encourages individuals to conform and live a controlled lifestyle, which in turn, was the main reason why Locke did not

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Instead, he believes that all humans are born both free and equal, in which individuals in the society are governed by natural law. (330) The ‘sovereign power’ in John Locke’s findings relates to the government, as it subsists to help support and keep the people safe. However, if an individual is seeking the protection of their property, they must pursue an executive power to help keep that property safe. (326) This relationship between the subject and the sovereign can be considered very significant because it overshadows the way in which political societies work

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In his writings he proposed a conception of political philosophy, which was gathered from the principle of self-ownership and the right to keep property. This can sound familiar because founding fathers took a lot of what john had said and established it into our own declaration independence. He also argued that the divine right of kings is supported neither by stricture nor by the use of reason which until this point was the predominant philosophy that kings were to rule because they were born to rule because they came from a bloodline that was gifted with rule as set forth in the bible. To Locke, men are in natural state of perfect freedom to their actions and place possession and persons as they think fit without asking or depending upon the will of any other man. All men, according to John Locke should be restrained from invading others rights and from doing harm to one another and the law of nature be in vain with there was no body that in the state of nature had a power to execute that law and thereby help the innocent and restrain offenders.

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Thousands of people took his advice and this system was put into place all over the world. Surprisingly, throughout the Enlightenment, religious freedom finally began to occur. Voltaire once said, “If one religion only were allowed in England, the government would very possibly become arbitrary; if there were but two, the people would cut

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Written in 1690, Two Treatises of Government by John Locke discusses some of the most important values a society should have. Locke believes that all people enter this world with three natural rights: life, liberty, and property. If a leader attempts to take away these natural rights, the people are entitled to the ability to revolt against their ruler. Since each and every person is guaranteed these three rights, it ensures that all the members of the given society will be treated equally from the very start of their time in this world. Moreover, the idea that all people are equal, all people live in freedom, and a leader does not have absolute power, is stressed throughout Locke’s document.

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In The Second Treatise of Government, John Locke examines man’s transition from a state of freedom and equality, to a state of civil government with legislative and executive power. Locke believes that by nature people are free. He believes that people’s natural rights consist of life, liberty and property. He also strongly believes that laws and governing are only necessary where something goes wrong. With this being said, Locke thinks it would be only naturally right that no one man has more power over another.

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Freedom For All People lived in world that was controlled by a ruler. Freedom was often out of their reach. Before the 17th century people, couldn’t choose who they wanted to marry, what they believed in, nor could they choose their religion. During the 17th and 18th century, The Enlightenment was a period of time where people were questioning traditional ways of living and knowing. Enlightenment Thinkers, called philosophes, were hopeful that they might discover new ways to understand and improve their society.

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Locke Believed in the idea that men where free to rule themselves and didn’t give into one ruler such as a king. He goes on saying that all men are “equal and independent ” (Second Treatise, §6) going on to say that no government or higher power can offend this right which they where born with.

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In the late 17th and 18th hundreds in Europe, philosophers gathered to discuss political, religious, social, and economic questions to create solutions for these topics. This period had bright new ideas and high intellect. This period was also known as the, “Age of Enlightenment.” Some main ideas brought up by the philosophers John Locke, Voltaire, Adam Smith, and Mary Wollstonecraft for the enlightenment was freedom for each individual. This is seen through the writings of John Locke on political freedoms, Voltaire on his writings of freedom of religion, Adam Smith on freedom of commerce, and lastly Mary Wollstonecraft on freedom for women.

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“In the state of nature, liberty consists of being free from any superior power on Earth. People are not under the will or lawmaking authority of others but have only the law of nature for their rule.” – John Locke John Locke was a philosopher and one of the most influential thinkers at the time of the Enlightenment in England. Locke is commonly known as the father of Liberalism, and according to his opinion on man's natural state, all people were equal and independent, and people were entitled to the natural right to defend their “life, health Liberty or Possessions.” There have been several historical moments were great measures are taken in the name of liberty.

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In contrast to Hobbes, John Locke was a philosopher who believed in “life, liberty, health and property... these are natural rights” (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). His ideal form of government was a democracy, with consent of the governed. He believed that humans were inherently good, could be trusted to learn from their mistakes, make good choices, and govern themselves. The government’s main purpose would be to protect the people’s inalienable rights.

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Eli Brown Recitation 013 Steven Vanderheiden Isaac Sours Locke On Property Inequality In John Locke’s Second Treatise, Locke lays out principles of a liberal democracy. In the text Locke argues that individuals have natural rights life, liberty, and property. He then argues that these rights should be protected by a government, that also has the consent of those that it governs. Locke also argues that if the people believe that the government is no longer protecting their natural rights, they have the right to overthrow that government.

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