John Locke's The Second Treaties Of Government

1200 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: critical analysis of social contract theory

The Second Treaties of Government was written by John Locke, and English political philosopher around 1688. John Locke was one of the most important and highly influential philosophers in England, and he is still relevant today. He was born August 29, 1632 in Wrington Somerset, England to John Locke and Agnes Keene. While he was an infant, his mother died, so he was raised by his father, who was a county lawyer and a military man. He attended the University of Oxford, where he studied medicine. John died on October 28, 1704. In The Second Treaties of Government, Locke begins with political power. Political power was not given directly to Adam from God, so it was not passed down between generations. He defines political power as "a right …show more content…

John believed that all men had a state of perfect freedom, a state of equality, and a state of liberty. They had a right to act as they wanted to as long as they did not destroy other people or their property or possessions. Locke goes on to say "all men are naturally in that state," he is referring to the state of nature, "and remain so, till by their own consents they make themselves members of some politic society."(7) So, once they agree to become part of the society, they give up their natural state, which is their freedom, equality, and …show more content…

He gave it to all of mankind in common. So, no person should have owned property, but it belonged to everyone. Discussing how people came to own individual pieces of land, he used the natives and how they would work on certain areas of land, eating the food and taking care of it and an example of how land was gradually taken ownership of. It was not purchased, but became owned because of working on the land. "Right and conveniency when together; for as a man had a right to all he could employ his labor upon, so he had no temptation to labor for more than he could make use of it. This left no room for controversy about the title, nor for encroachment on the right of others; what portion a man carved to himself was easily seen, and it was useless, as well as dishonest, to carve himself too much, or to take more than he needed."(23) Locke was saying that man should not take more than he can take care of, that would be

Show More
Related

  • Enlightenment Influences on American Ideals

    1182 Words  | 3 Pages

    John Locke, one of the leading philosophers of the European Enlightenment was very important when it came to political thought in the United States. His ideas of the reasons, nature, and limits of the government became especially important in the development of the Constitution. In one of his most famous writings of that time, Two Treatises on Government (1689), Locke established a theory where personal liberty could coexist with political power ; meaning that the people would agree to obey the government and in return, the government would have the responsibility of respecting the people’s natural rights. In other words, he laid out a social contract theory that provided the philosophy and source of a governing author...

    Read More

  • Locke and Publius: Comparing Their Views on Civil Government

    1499 Words  | 3 Pages

    John Locke wrote The Second Treatise of Government in 1689 and Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay (Publius) wrote The Federalist Papers in 1787 and 1788. There are common themes shared between them despite the century that passed between their respective publication dates. One such theme is human nature and qualities individuals possess that make a difference to government. Although Locke covers a wide r...

    Read More

  • John Locke's Influence On Modern-Day Government

    322 Words  | 1 Pages

    John Locke is considered to be one of the most prominent philosophical & political figures of the era known as the Enlightenment because of his immense contributions to modern-day government. Locke’s beliefs & radical views on how government should serve are expressed through much of his writings. He believed that the government has a moral obligation to serve its people through protecting their natural rights of Life, Liberty, & Property. The beliefs stated in his works contributed to much of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. John Locke played the greatest role in shaping modern-day government through his beliefs & contributions that laid the foundation for our current political system & constitution.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Locke And Wollstonecraft

    552 Words  | 2 Pages

    John Locke was one of the Enlightenment Philosophers who contributed into the world today. Locke was trying to prove that everyone and everything is free but there are natural consequence to their decisions. “...(W)e must consider, what state all men are naturally in,and that is, a state of perfect freedom to order their actions, and dispose [manage] of their possessions and persons, as they think fit, within the bounds of the law of nature…”John Locke “Of the State of Nature”. In the quote Locke states that men are naturally free and they can manage their belongings within the laws of nature.

    Read More

  • Locke, Rousseau, and King

    929 Words  | 2 Pages

    John Locke is a seventeenth century philosopher who believed that government should be based around the people rather than the power of one person. Equality and property were two factors that Locke considered to be the key to a great society. Locke begins his writings with a discussion on individual property and how each man body is his own property. This leads Locke into the argument that man can obtain property only by using his own labor. an example Locke gives is the picking of an apple. The apple is the property of the man who used his labor to pick it. He goes on to say “A person may only acquire as many things in this way as he or she can reasonably use to their advantage”. With the discussion of property Locke leads into the discussion of trade and monetary value stating that it is natural of man to w...

    Read More

  • John Locke's Second Treatise On Government

    702 Words  | 2 Pages

    Locke believed that the role of the government was to protect property and resolve disputes through administrative justice or by creating legislation. The government would be created through the consent of the people. Locke believed that freedom in the state was “having the liberty to order and use your property and to be free from the arbitrary will of another.” No one person can claim divine right to rule, because there is no way to determine if that person is actually divine or not. If government is not fulfilling their duty, the people have a right to overthrow it (i.e. revolution; was a major influence for American revolutionaries). For Locke, law is enlightening and liberating to humans. “law manifests what’s good for everybody.” The key reason for political society is for men to improve land. Locke believes men have mutual interest in coming together to protect land. Men must enter an agreement because there are a few bad apples, though not everyone is bad. If these few apples can be dealt with, their impact can be

    Read More

  • John Locke's Second Treatise, Of Civil Government

    731 Words  | 2 Pages

    1. First of all, John Locke reminds the reader from where the right of political power comes from. He expands the idea by saying, “we must consider what estate 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.” Locke believes in equality among all people. Since every creature on earth was created by God, no one has advantages over another. He makes a strong suggestion by saying, “that creatures of the same species and rank, should also be equal one amongst another, without subordination or subjection, unless the lord and master of them all should, by any manifest declaration of his will, set one above another, and confer on him, by an evident and clear appointment, an undoubted right to dominion and sovereignty.” For people to confirm the state of Nature, a law is set that obliges people to follow and consult it. The Law of Nature brings many things that need to be followed by each person. Locke describes the law’s consequences if not obeyed by saying, “the execution of the law of Nature is in that state put into every man’s hands, whereby every one has a right to punish the transgressors of that law to such a degree as may hinder its violation.” Every law is fair and equal to every person. As you have equal rights, you may also be punished equally if you don’t obey it.

    Read More

  • John Locke’s Two Treatises of Government and Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Social Contract

    1125 Words  | 3 Pages

    John Locke published his Two Treatises of Government in 1690. In his writing Locke argued that individuals had the natural rights of life, liberty and property that the state could never be taken away because these rights were “inalienable.” The natural rights of individuals limited the power of the king. The king did not hold absolute power, but acted only to enforce and protect the natural rights of the people.

    Read More

  • Theory Of Property In John Locke's Second Treatise Of Government

    1562 Words  | 4 Pages

    In Locke’s state of nature, there was never a need to assume that one must equally divide possessions. Locke’s notion of of the right to property was crucial because it was held on the same accord as rights such as life and liberty respectively. By doing so, property becomes subjected to the whims of political processes just as any similar right would require. This means that Locke was able to justify inequalities in property through the need of political regulation for property. There was also a drastic imbalance in Locke’s civil society due to the two classes that unlimited accumulation of property created. Locke suggested that everyone is a member of society and yet only those who owned property could fully participate in society. Those who did not own property were unable to fully participate, because it could give them the opportunity to use their newfound legitimate power to equalize property ownership, going against Locke’s key belief of unlimited accumulation. In Locke’s views, due to the overwhelming abundance of property, there was never a need for a method to ensure impartiality. The inequality stems from Locke’s inability to realize the discrepancy would become more and more apparent as men used money to expand their possessions. This structure established two different types of class within society, the upper echelon citizens who share in the sovereign power and the second class citizens

    Read More

  • The Idea of Consent in the Works of Locke and Rousseau

    1209 Words  | 3 Pages

    John Locke powerfully details the benefits of consent as a principle element of government, guaranteed by a social contract. Locke believes in the establishment of a social compact among people of a society that is unique in its ability to eliminate the state of nature. Locke feels the contract must end the state of nature agreeably because in the state of nature "every one has executive power of the law of nature"(742). This is a problem because men are then partial to their own cases and those of their friends and may become vindictive in punishments of enemies. Therefore, Locke maintains that a government must be established with the consent of all that will "restrain the partiality and violence of men"(744). People must agree to remove themselves from the punishing and judging processes and create impartiality in a government so that the true equality of men can be preserved. Without this unanimous consent to government as holder of executive power, men who attempt to establish absolute power will throw society into a state of war(745). The importance of freedom and security to man is the reason he gives consent to the government. He then protects himself from any one partial body from getting power over him.

    Read More

  • Locke State Of Nature Analysis

    1424 Words  | 3 Pages

    We can say that Locke conceived all the natural rights as things which an individual brings with him from birth, and consequently as indefeasible or inviolable claims upon both society and government. Such claims can never be justly set aside, since society itself exists to protect them; they can be regulated only to the extent that is necessary to give them effective protection. In other words, the “life, liberty and estate” of one person can be limited only to make effective the equally valid claims of another person to the same right.

    Read More

  • John Locke Natural Rights Analysis

    1343 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to John Locke everyone has natural rights. John Locke came up with natural rights, by thinking about what they could be for a long and vigorous time. Locke said that natural rights are “life, health, liberty, and possessions” (9). Life is something that no one can take away from anyone. Locke said, “no ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possession” (9). Life is not an absolute right. An example of this is if there was a train full of ten thousand people about to hit a rock, and you are by the switch that could save the ten thousand people, but if you use the switch you are killing a twelve-year-old girl on the other track. Liberty is doing what ever someone wants to do, and they can’t be punished for

    Read More

  • Analysis Of John Locke: The Second Treatise Of Government

    2379 Words  | 5 Pages

    John Locke is considered one of the best political minds of his time. The modern conception of western democracy and government can be attributed to his writing the Second Treatise of Government. John Locke championed many political notions that both liberals and conservatives hold close to their ideologies. He argues that political power should not be concentrated to one specific branch, and that there should be multiple branches in government. In addition to, the need for the government to run by the majority of the population through choosing leaders, at a time where the popular thing was to be under the rule of a monarch. But despite all of his political idea, one thing was extremely evident in his writing. This was that he preferred limited

    Read More

  • What Is John Locke's Work Like All Puritans

    380 Words  | 1 Pages

    Like all Puritans, John Locke believed that all men were equal although, Locke also believed that people had individual rights, which could determine their fates. Lock believed that men have the right to do what they want with what God gave them. One of Locke’s main arguments was that men had the right to transform things such as land in to something useful and have the right to develop this land. This belief by Locke deals with the rationality of taking land, such as the Indians, if the land isn’t being used efficiently. This view is very different than what most Puritans believe and signifies a slow change in the thinking at the time.

    Read More

  • Comparing John Locke, John Stuart Mill, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau

    2030 Words  | 5 Pages

    In order to examine how each thinker views man and the freedom he should have in a political society, it is necessary to define freedom or liberty from each philosopher’s perspective. John Locke states his belief that all men exist in "a state of perfect freedom to order their actions and dispose of their possessions and person as they think fit, within the bounds of the law of nature, without asking leave or depending upon the will of any other man." (Ebenstein 373) Locke believes that man exists in a state of nature and thus exists in a state of uncontrollable liberty, which has only the law of nature, or reason, to restrict it. (Ebenstein 374) However, Locke does state that man does not have the license to destroy himself or any other creature in his possession unless a legitimate purpose requires it. Locke emphasizes the ability and opportunity to own and profit from property as necessary for being free.

    Read More

More about John Locke's The Second Treaties Of Government

Open Document