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John Locke's Second Treatise Of Government

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John Locke was born during a time of political upheaval in England and other European nations. It is this politically unstable environment that most likely inspired him to write is Second Treatise of Government. In this book Locke proposes solutions to the instability mainly through implementation of a limited government which uses political power to protect individual’s property. He is widely regarded as a strong defender of limited government and his legacy lives on in the constitutions of many modern nations including the United States, in which his work was highly influential in promoting democracy.
For Locke, the only type of legitimate government is one that has the consent of the majority. Therefore Locke felt that a legitimate contract …show more content…

At first glance this does not sound like a limited government, but Locke has this to say regarding the abuse of power by the executive, “When the legislative hath put the execution of the laws they make into other hands, they have a power still to resume it out of those hands, when they find cause, and to punish for any mal-administration against the laws.” [Locke 2011, 752] This seems like a fine solution for abuses on behalf of the executive, but what of abuses by the legislative? Locke states that, “When any one, or more, shall take upon them to make laws, whom the people have not appointed so to do, they make laws without authority, which the people are not therefore bound to obey… [the people] may constitute to themselves a new legislative, as they thing best, being in full liberty to …show more content…

Why should we be ruled by government when we could live in a natural state of anarchy with all of our fundamental rights intact? Locke calls this state, the state of nature and gives reason as to why people leave this state in exchange for a political society, “If man in the state of nature be so free… if he be absolute lord of his own person and possessions, equal to the greatest, and subject to nobody, why will he part with his freedom? Why will he give up this empire, and subject himself to the dominion and control of any other power? … The enjoyment of the property he has in this state is very unsafe, very unsecure. This makes him willing to quit this condition, which, however free, is full of fears and continual dangers: and it is not without reason that he seeks out, and is willing to join in society with others… for the mutual preservation of their lives, liberties, and estates, which I call by the general name, property.” [Locke 2011, 744-755] The concept of property is very important to Locke. He says it is protection of one’s property which includes one’s own life that is the driving force which leads people to seek out preservation of their property by joining together in society and forming governments. Locke constantly reiterates the importance of retaining ones property and how the government is not to violate

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Locke states that they must “give up the equality, liberty, and executive power they had in the state of nature”. This is for the intention of better preserving himself. Locke favored representative government, where citizens are permitted to vote and elect members to represent the public in government. 3.

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Locke believed that the government was to protect the people’s natural rights. On the people’s behalf they must follow the laws of the land. The Declaration of Independence says “That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive …, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it…” Locke states, “…that he who attempts to get another man into his absolute power, does thereby put himself into a state of war with him...” and create a new political system.

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Locke believed that it is people’s inherent right to govern themselves. He “championed the social contract and govern­ment by consent”. (Steven) He even went so far to say that people did not need to be governed. All that government is is a framework by which people protect their natural rights, but it only needs to exist in practice.

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It is easy to see in the preamble that Locke inspired it. However, unlike the Declaration of Independence, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen included Locke’s ideas on ownership and property. It states, “Property being an inviolable and sacred right, no one can be deprived of it…” (SMW,

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Locke helped shape the United States government and many other nations governing systems around the world. Locke believed all men were born with the rights of life or your natural rights of liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and a government should protect and respect the rights of individuals. Under the protection of your government he believed “whom the society hath set over itself, with this express or tacit trust, that it shall be employed for their good, and the preservation of their property: now this power, which every man has in the state of nature, and which he parts with to the society in all such cases where the society can secure him, is to use such means, for the preserving of his own property, as he thinks good, and nature allows him; and to punish the breach of the law of nature in other” (Document C). By introducing natural rights the common people gained more power through an equality between all men. Natural rights gave people the right to possess and protect their own property both physical items and personal ideals.

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Locke believed that people were born with natural rights that included the right to life, liberty, and property. Locke argued that people formed governments to protect their natural rights, so the best kind of government was one with limited power and was accepted by all citizens. Locke said that a government has an obligation to the people it governs, therefore, the people have a right to revolt if the government fails at its obligations. Like many other Enlightenment philosophers, John Locke’s ideas reflected on the checks and balance system as well as the Declaration of Independence. For example, in the Declaration of Independence, it says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

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Locke insisted, “that government was originally formed for the purpose of protecting man 's individual rights against the incursions of other individuals” (Sigler, 1998, para.1). Locke’s ideas on revolution supported the American Revolutionary war and his views of man’s natural rights shape our democratic government which are still relevant today. John Locke’s famous writing Two Treaties of Government claimed that all men have certain natural rights. Men have the right to be free and equal which went against the early rule of the monarchy. He believed some of our rights have to be given up in order to form a government that would protect every man but if the government failed or selfishly used

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in which he tackles problems concerning life, liberty, property, and, ultimately, the power that the people have over the government. However, to what extent can Locke?s beliefs be accepted? Can they justify peaceful protest? This essay will connect the beliefs expressed in

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In John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government, Locke’s main argument is whether majority rulings does not violate people’s fundamental rights. He goes further to explain his theory of a legitimate government. According to Locke, a legitimate government is a government that is limited and based on consent of the people. A government must not violate a person’s natural right (life,liberty, and property), but it can take away property through taxes and make citizens go to war for them. In following that government has limits that can violate a person’s natural right, however, how can we constitute many of our law as violations to people’s fundamental rights if it helps the people.

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It is the job of the government to maintain the “...preservation of the society, and… of every person in it” (Locke, Chapter XI). Locke refers to it as a house, if one does not have a stable foundation, then the house and all of its materials will crumble, but if one has a strong foundation and adequate materials then the house will be strong. Also, as he states in Chapter eight, the consent of the people is needed to establish a legislative power.

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If the government rests on consent, and if consent is ever removed, then the people have the right to revolt, to cast off one government and replace it with another government. The people get the idea of legitimate government of being limited. Government can’t do anything that’s limited in its powers, which come from its work. There is religious toleration, separation of church and state, which all comes from Locke, and the notion of constitutional democracies that limit

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In order to fully understand the connection between these two seemingly unconnected occurrences, you must first know the basic background knowledge of each of the events to know how and why they happened. The Age of Enlightenment was the era in history between around 1685-1815. It was a time where thinkers began to question the way that people traditionally thought and how humans traditionally acted. This period in history is responsible for giving us some of the greatest scientific discoveries, books, inventions, and laws of our time. It also helped shape the world through several wars including the American Revolution and the French Revolution.

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Locke's most important and influential political writings are contained in his Two Treatises on Government. The first treatise is concerned almost exclusively with refuting the argument that political authority was derived from religious authority. The second treatise contains Locke’s own constructive view of the aims and justification for civil government. According to Locke, the State of Nature, the natural condition of mankind, is a state of perfect and complete liberty to conduct one's life as one best sees fit, free from the interference of others. This does not mean, however, that it is a state of license: one is not free to do anything at all one pleases, or even anything that one judges to be in one’s interest.

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Development is closely linked to transformation and they are both not restricted to any area of life, since it is more concerned with things and people moving forward. However, this means that there is a variety of ways in which it can be achieved. Whether it is in science or religion, its effects are felt by the whole human race. Moreover, it can either change the cause of history or change people alone. And through the religious window much can be developed since much aspect of religion focuses greatly on the self.

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Only those who are born with true philosophical understanding can rule. In the Second Treatise by John Locke, Locke addresses the state of nature, which is essentially equality and freedom. Even though people have liberty, they still need to obey natural laws. On the contrary of Plato’s just city, Locke believes that absolute authority is not a civil government. A civil society is where the majority rules.

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