Compare And Contrast Locke And Two Contract

English philosopher and political theorist, John Locke experienced the English Civil Wars first-hand which would later prompt him to question the purpose and structure of government. The wars were the result of conflict between a king who claimed absolute authority by divine right and a Parliament that believed itself to have authority independent of the crown. The English Civil Wars provided the context in which Locke would develop the arguments for his most famous work, the Second Treatise of Government. In the work, Locke begins by claiming that without the existence of government humans exist in a state of nature. Since there is no governing body in the state of nature individuals are free to

John Locke liked freedom, he thought that freedom was good for the government. “...(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….” (Doc A) This states that Locke wants freedom but their comes consequences. To have this freedom men needed to create a government with a legislature and an executive. Locke’s main idea was people had rights.

John Locke was perhaps one of the most influential political philosophers of the modern period. In the Second Treatise of Government, John Locke discusses the move from a state of nature and perfect freedom to a then governed society in which authority is given to a legislative and executive power. His major ideas included liberalism and capitalism, state of nature, state of war and the desire to protect one’s property.

Constitution. John Locke’s belief of “life, liberty, and property” was the most influence on the American. Beside the Magna Carta, Petition of Rights, and English Bill of Rights, Locke also has a great influence of limit government. Locke’s Social Contract theory was to protect the basic rights of the people, it for the right of citizens to revolt against their king. Social contract is a convention between men that aims to discard the state of nature. According to Locke, the State of Nature is a state of perfect and complete liberty to behavior one's life as one best perceives fit, and free from the interfering of others. Also from Locke’s view of State of Nature, he believes it was given by

Throughout history, there have been many prolific philosophers and writers who have created works and writings that have advanced the way society thinks about their lives and what exactly they want from the world. What they presented ranged from something as simple as new ideas and theories, or as large as a revolution. There are some, although barring a few differences, that tried to present similar ideas and writings to cause a change in processes and a different mindset for the people. Take the theories from John Locke’s The Social Contract and Thomas Paine’s radical beliefs from The Age of Reason. Both of these men attempted to introduce a change in the way society thought and lived through both their own opinions and the idea that all people are entitled certain rights upon birth. The two had similar reasoning and ideals when they were describing their vision of an ideal society. Although the two presented their beliefs for different reasons, both John Locke and Thomas Paine’s writings resulted in a major impact on the minds of the people, as well as changes in society, for years to come.

A few examples of the similarities of the Declaration and Locke’s Second Treatise of Government will suffice,

The idea that people actually had consent over who ruled them was paradigm shifting. The central idea of modern democratic governments today is that the people can choose who has power, based on Locke’s ideas of governing at the consent of the governed. Lastly, Locke’s ideas influenced other major thinkers to come. Voltaire, another important philosophe was influenced by Locke’s ideas of basic human rights. Additionally, the American

John Locke was an incredibly encouraging figure in the development of the ideals and methods of political functioning in the United States of America. John Locke applied many of his studies to write one of his most famous and moving works. “The Second Treatises of Government” is the document which ultimately struck the United States in their creation of the Declaration of Independence. In Locke’s work he had focused on the idea that governments shouldn’t be dictated by anyone person, but ultimately should be a united entity in which everyone in the country has a say in what is happening. For example, John Locke believed that the government should be in charge of deciding who should be the leading figure of power and protecting their citizens’ “Life, Liberty, and Property”. He also believed that if the government failed to fulfill their duties of protecting their people and establishing a limit of power for the leading figure of the country, it was the responsibility of the citizens to “overthrow the government.” John Locke kept a similar mindset to that of Hobbes when it comes to the government and its power. Locke’s work and ideas would go on to be highly influential upon Thomas Jefferson during the process of writing the draft of the Declaration of Independence. In this document Jefferson kept very close ties to Locke’s ideas to create what he believed would be the ideal government.

John Locke, perhaps the greatest single influence on early American political thought, studied and articulated truths that had been simply assumed. His experiences during the English Civil War and efforts to bring about the Glorious Revolution led him to search for ways to legitimize resistance to an overbearing king. His final argument, the Second Treatise of Government, clarifies British constitutional laws by focusing on the individual’s rights in relation to those of society, setting the stage for both the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution, and permeating Western culture.

John Locke and Thomas Hobbes are often viewed as opposites, great philosophers who disagreed vehemently on the nature and power of government, as well as the state of nature from which government sprung. Hobbes’ Leviathan makes the case for absolute monarchy, while Locke’s Second Treatise of Government argues for a more limited, more representative society. However, though they differ on certain key points, the governments envisioned by both philosophers are far more alike than they initially appear. Though Hobbes and Locke disagree as to the duration of the social contract, they largely agree in both the powers it grants to a sovereign and the state of nature that compels its creation.

that has a clear purpose to serve the people and protect their individual liberties and property

Before reading the Second Treatise, of Civil Government, I learned a bit about John Locke and what this essay was to help give me a better grasp on the article. He was known as the “Father of Liberalism.” He is known for his work on the theory of state, the theory of knowledge, and for his religious toleration.

Seventeenth-century England gave rise to two of the greatest philosophical minds: Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. Hobbes and Locke who continue to influence modern political thought, were largely shaped by England’s widespread economic, social, religious and political tensions. Locke himself was involved in intrigue against the king, which resulted in his exile to liberal Holland. Meanwhile, after witnessing the rebellion against King Charles and the ensuing violent civil war, Hobbes was forced into exile in absolutist France. The massive social unrest led Hobbes and Locke to reflect on the proper function of government. In Locke’s highly acclaimed The Second Treatise on Government and Hobbes’ Leviathan, they detail their distinct thoughts on the nature of man, man’s relationship with society and man’s relationship with the government.

Since the beginning of human civilisation, social contracts have helped structure how people and governments worked together. It is the view that persons’ moral and/or political obligations are dependent upon a contract or agreement among them to form the society in which they live. This essay sets out to discuss John Locke’s social contract theory and the dictum that it is the linchpin of democratic governance. The essay starts by defining key concepts namely social contract and democratic governance, and moves on to look at John Locke’s philosophy and its relevance to democratic governance today.

Every agreement, to become a contract, needs to fulfil certain requirements. Some of the important requirements defined by Indian Contract Act, 1872 (section 10)