How Did John Locke's View Of Government

In order to understand why John Locke took viewed government a certain way, one must understand his viewpoints in terms of the common man. To begin with, John Locke played a major role in the enlightenment period. John Locke argued that power belonged to the middle class, or in other words, the common man. John Locke held the idea that every man is created equal. The value he held for the common individual played an important role in the constitution. John Locke believed that every man is “entitled to life, liberty, and property.”(Locke). However, in the constitution, the word “property” was changed with “pursuit of happiness”. One of John Lockes quotes, in terms of government, is that we must govern ourselves. He claims that “For the Law

John Locke was one who stood by and supported the ideals if natural law and state of nature of the common man. However, knowing that an individual could not be entrusted with punishing one who broke the law, Locke believed there should be people fit to the roles of a judge and the jury. Locke believes that because individuals are not perfect, there must be a government. Thus, in examining his perspectives, Locke upheld the ideals of a democratic government with a system of checks and balances.Checks and balances keep individuals from gaining too much power over others. In today's government, John Locke's ideals are very much

However, when we look at locke's ideas and compare them to the other enlightenment thinkers, we see that Locke did not entirely agree with others at his time. While others believed that the natural state of man was evil, Locke believed that it was essentially good. While others desired a monarchy, Locke believed that a system of checks and balances was necessary in maintaining a good, strong, and healthy society. The way John Locke felt towards monarchies was not surprising given his perspective on how a society should function. Locke said that “As if when men, quitting the state of nature, entered into society, they agreed that all of them but one should be under the restraints of laws; but he should still retain the liberty of the state of nature, increased with power, and made licentious with impunity. This is to think that men are so foolish that they take care to avoid mischiefs may be done them by polecats or foxes, but are content, nay, think it safely, to be devoured by lions”(Locke). John Locke believed that having one individual with all the power over the people was not right. He believed it was as if man was in his natural state and if the monarch was to step out of line then no one would be there to judge the monarch accordingly. Thus, John Locke was an individual who was opposed the way things were functioning during his time. During his time there were many monarchies. Thus, inspiring