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What Is The Power In John Locke's Second Practice Of Civil Government

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Short Answer Questions: John Locke published his Second Treatise of Civil Government in 1690 and two years earlier, the Glorious Revolution had occurred, ousting the very unpopular King James II. He was replaced by King William III and Queen Mary. His specific motives for writing this Treatise was to support the Glorious Revolution and justify the resistance to King Charles II. He also sought to refute the pro-Absolutist theories of Sir Robert Filmer, which he and his Whig associates felt were getting too popular for his liking. Locke refers to the laws of nature in order to define political power. He sees these laws as the natural instincts of people and something man is bound by at birth- “a state also of equality, wherein all the power …show more content…

He introduces these powers as the judicial, legislative and executive powers. The reason he splits it into three powers is so that they can function as a sort of leash on each other to ensure that no one branch ever gains more power than the other, thus keeping the notion of tyranny at bay. By creating a government with three branches that each has equal yet different powers no one group of individuals is able to gain all the power and each branch could limit the power of the other two,successfully creating a loop of sorts wherein no one branch can escape. Montesquieu believed that the executive powers “...ought to be in the hands of a monarch…”. This was because the executive branch was always “... need of expedition…” and therefore simply just run more efficiently by only one person and if it was run by more than one person it would be “an end then of liberty”. On the other hand he also believed that the legislative power should reside in many people because it was better regulated and run by multiple individuals, but if it was run by one person it would also be an end of liberty because no legislative resolutions and the state would fall into

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The best form of government, as stated by Montesquieu, is one where the legislative, executive and judicial powers were separate and kept each other in check to keep any branch from being too powerful. He called this idea the separation of powers. An example of this in his eyes was England’s government. Charles mistook the way that political power operated. He saw the English government as one where it separated and balanced powers instead of one central part holding all the power.

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In the first five paragraphs, Montesquieu talks about the three sorts of power: legislative, executive, and judicial. He emphasizes the importance that each power should be separate and not “united in the same person”. Montesquieu explains that if two powers were to be joined, it could lead to tyrannical or arbitrary rule. 2.

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It is understood that John Locke played a key role of influence on Thomas Jefferson. This influence can be seen through Jefferson’s writing on the nation’s founding document. This document is called the Declaration of Independence. John Locke, the English Enlightenment philosopher wrote his Two Treatises of Government to refute the belief that kings ruled by divine right and to support the Glorious Revolution of 1688 (Doc 1). This piece of political philosophy provided many explanations for the people’s rights and obligations to overthrow a corrupt government.

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He believed a government is based on the consent of the governed. The Constitution states that the government is “by the people, for the people”. This directly aligns with what John Locke believed. John Locke believed in individual liberties. The Bill of Rights directly lists out what liberties and rights citizens would have.

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He believed that people were born with reason and in with that came common interests and peace, but he also knew that people would need something to act as a third party in natural brawls. He supported a government that would take action when needed but other-wise stay at bay. When this government made appearance at times in need of control the people would willingly consent to a social contract, which was the notion of at times for the good of the people losing some freedoms. With this government, and its powers came the important opportunity for the people to discard the representatives that they felt were not governing for the people. Locke knew that man was easily influence by self-interest, and if man governed man that wouldn’t it be only natural for government to become a self-interested tool for its own consumption of power and benefits; Madison’s theories constantly worried of a central government that would obtain too much power.

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Each political philosopher's opinions are influenced by the setting each man experiences. Locke is forming his political philosophy during a time of Revolution. Therefore, he bases his philosophy around democracy.

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The rights he thought were inalienable was the right to life, liberty and property, he choose property because he thought if you have your own land you can make their own happiness,Later Thomas Jefferson turned it into Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Those are the rights he thought you do not have to give up to the government because those are your rights as a citizen. People have noted that phrases from Locke’s Second Treatise of Government was found in the Declaration of INdependence. Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet that stated reasons why they should break away from the British rule and since the Declaration was a list of reasons why the New World should break away from Great Britain, it helped establish the Declaration of

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The historical development of the world from 1690 to 1830 wouldn’t be what it was if it weren’t for John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government. Locke’s Second Treatise not only sparked individualism, but also revolutions, and was a guide to the creations of declarations around the world. Two main revolutions and declarations that Locke’s ideas inspired were the American Revolution and the French Revolution.

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In "Second Treatise on Civil Government (1689)" by John Locke, the philosopher states his theory about the origin of government was from the will of the people and that the people has the right to change their rulers and state. In order for a union to exist, people as a whole must be equal in the sense that social class does not affect ones influence on government because every person is born with the same opportunities. Unquestionably, we all have natural rights that law cannot take away from us, but there are some things that people must follow to keep peace in the state. Granted the people are who decide how government should be and who our next rulers, are but there are times where the state makes the wrong decisions and rebellions/revolutions

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The founders of any government must face the questions: what do men need from government? And how should government be structured to best guarantee these needs? Through his Two Treatises on Civil Government, John Locke, a 17th century political theorist, attempts to answer these difficult questions. Locke’s declaration that men need government to ensure their rights to life and property is supported by information within Fareed Zakaria’s editorial, “Stop being afraid of more government…”; the size changes of government, observed by Zakaria, occur in order to properly secure the people’s rights, while government should remain composed of three branches, with legislative, judicial, and executive authority.

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