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Summary Of John Locke's Second Teatise Of Government

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Locke – Second Teatise of Government

Chapter 2, 3
Unlike Hobbes, Locke didn’t think then man in their natural state, was selfish and competitive. Instead, he believed that all men were equally governed by reason, and that ability to reason comes from God.
• State of Nature = State of reason
• He argues that Men already enjoyed rights in the state of nature. (“life, liberty and property”)
• However, even as they enjoy these rights, there is still constant uncertainty and insecurity.
• State of War: Where force enters into the picture. There will be no end to the violence as there is no authority to judge who is right in the SoN. Thus, a state is needed to avoid this.

Chapter 6
When Locke says all men are equal, he is not talking about their …show more content…

This is because they have not fully developed rationality. Paternal power thus gets its legitimacy from the duty parents have to educate and nurture their imperfect minds.
• Once the kid understands the law of nature, they become equal to their parents, and have equal rights to life, liberty and property.
• But those who can’t/don’t (eg. lunatics) will never be able to have freedom.
• Freedom of man = grounded on rationality, the ability to govern oneself.

Chapter 7
• God gave man the desire and abilities to live in a society.
• The purpose of marriage is to sustain the human race. Procreation, and then nurturing of offspring.
• Men and women are equal. The woman has the liberty to leave a marriage. The state has no business in their marriage, other than sorting out arguments.
• Slaves are not part of civil society.
• Civil society/commonwealth has the power to decide what punishments offenders should receive. Every man has given up their right to punish when they enter the commonwealth. A civil society only exists when men all give up their right to punish.

Chapter 8 (95-99, 121-122)
When one enters a community, they also owe a duty to everyone else in the

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