John Locke And William Godwin

In his Second Treatise on Government Locke focus’ on liberalism & capitalism, defending the claim that men are by nature free and equal against the idea that God had made all people subject to a king. He argued that people have ‘natural rights’, such as the right to life, liberty, and property, that hold the foundation for the major laws of a society. He says, “…we must consider, what state 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.” (2nd Treatise, Chapter 2, sec 4). John Locke used this claim, that all men were naturally free and equal, for understanding the idea of a government as a result of a social contract. This is where people in the state of nature transfer some of their rights to the government in order to better guarantee the steady and comfortable enjoyment of their lives, liberty, and property.

John Locke believed in the state of nature and the dissolution of government. Locke states “When the government is dissolved,the people are at liberty to provide for themselves by erecting a new legislative.” In the quote above John Locke is saying that people are responsible enough to govern themselves without being judged.

The enlightenment era arose in the modern cultural ideology of the 18th century, as ideas among philosophers had a widespread effect among the society. The age of enlightenment, in western society, projected the rejection of traditional Christianity, western philosophy, intellectual advances, scientific, and cultural life, government legitimacy and authority. Upon the enlightenment period multiple philosophers emerged, the individuals arose to leading figures using reason to understand all aspects of human life. The motivations for the enlightenment came primarily from the Englishmen, John Locke. John Locke was a philosophical influence in both political theory and theoretical philosophy, which was embraced among the era of 1789-1914 and

While reading the “The Second Treatise of Government,” you can notice and see that John Locke has a strong standing for civil rights as well as helping with the development of the Constitution of the United States. He states that the “consent of the governed,” is basically saying that communities are not put together by the divine right or ruled by. Paternal, familial, and political are types of powers that John Locke mentions that have all have unlike characteristics. He inspired others to believe in and want equal rights and democracy. John Locke talks about the state of nature, which basically states that no one has the power to be ruler of someone, as well as they are able to do what they want in a freely matter. In other words people are born just like anyone else that is born, and should have equally rights to property, health, and liberty, and that no one should have the power over anyone. Everyone should be able to live and enjoy his or her own freedom and wellbeing. However, the state of nature is not a guarantee to have natural laws, which could help with the protecting of one’s property. According to him having your own personal freedom was the true meaning of state of nature. John Locke thought that people were following his faith in human rationality through the declaration of Locke. John Locke states that if the government takes away from others for them to empower them then the people have right and opportunity to go against

John Locke was a Western philosopher who first published writings regarding natural rights; he laid these rights out to be life, liberty and property. Locke was one of the many 17th century Enlightenment thinkers who influenced people all over Europe and America. Such American Patriots, who were influenced by Locke, used his ideas to stake their claim of independence from Britain. Thomas Jefferson, a Patriot and founding father of America, applied Locke’s ideas of natural rights in his writing of the American Declaration of Independence and his argument against British control of the colonies. One oppressed group in America, the blacks, petitioned Jefferson to use his new position of power in the American government to promote equality in society. Benjamin Banneker, an educated free black living in Maryland, wrote Thomas Jefferson a letter in response to Jefferson’s Notes On The State of Virginia in which Jefferson states his beliefs concerning slavery and race inequality. By elevating Jefferson’s status, manipulating Jefferson’s own arguments and highlighting his own accomplishments, Banneker’s letter helps refute Jefferson’s claims of black inferiority and justification of slavery.

The story “lord of the flies’’ by William Golding, the novel correlates to the philosophical views of John Locke and Thomas Hobbes. John Locke was an English philosopher that surmised man's natural moral compass would point towards good, Locke's philosophical writings stated “ that individuals in a state of nature would have stronger moral limits on their actions. Essentially, Locke thought that our human nature was characterized by reason and tolerance. People, Locke believed, were basically good’’ ( Locke and Hobbes Overview 2). John Locke thought if people were given no rules they would make a paradise, flourishing in law, order, and structure, Thomas Hobbes believed people were naturally cruel and chaotic, with a need of a strong ruler to make decisions. Hobbes stated, “Who felt that mankind was inherently evil and required a strong central authority to ward off this inclination toward an immoral behavior, Locke believed that human nature allowed men to be selfish’’( Locke and Hobbes Overview 2 ). Thomas Hobbes believed a strong iron-fisted ruler was needed for the safety and well being of a society. The ideals of man in a natural state, follow Thomas Hobbes philosophical view represented through Jack's brutish and monarch like attitude which lead to them living in a dystopian society.

John Locke argued that people should have the right as an individual to create a good government. “Men are naturally in, 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). Humans are

John Locke argued for individual freedom. If we had individual freedom we would have a strong government. Locke said it was necessary to a good government. Locke wrote “People are naturally free and have the right to maintain their freedom.”(Document A) To keep this freedom people needed to construct a government that has both an executive and a legislature. To Locke a government created by the people was the best government in his futuristic sense of

Locke believed that men essentially were governed by the laws of nature that God created and that the government should reflect in such a

18th century French philosophes debated and studied many topics. Some of the main ideas or topics studied by these well educated people were government, religion, economy, and gender roles. Famous philosophes such as John Locke, Voltaire, Adam Smith and Mary Wollstonecraft, discussed different ideals and roles the government should play in the lives of the common people. Each philosophe had a different main idea and opinion on society. While they all had different focuses, they all shared a similar belief, that individual freedom was a key element in a stable and peaceful society.

Locke argues that chaos the within the state of nature leads humans to merge into commonwealths. Locke believes without government, men live like beasts. In this society. strength is the strongest quality and the strongest can cause chaos. Locke quotes Genesis 9:6, “Whose sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed.”(The Bible, Genesis 9:6) He believes that within the state of nature there is some order. This is because naturally humans create order and will punish offenders. Locke notes that the laws of nature are what unify men into political bodies. He argues this because living alone, people are unable to procure their civil interests. Therefore, naturally we seek communion and fellowship for mutual benefit. The personal consent of each individual to join the political body unifies them into a political society or commonwealth. Locke identifies a commonwealth as a “society of men constituted only for procuring, preserving, and advancing their own civil interests.” (78) He argues that this civil interest is in protecting the wellbeing, liberty, and possession of external goods. Locke argues that god gave the world to men in common for their best advantage in life. Therefore, every man has right to self preservation and acquisition of goods. The means in which parts of the earth can be appropriated to an individual are if: there is a necessity for the good to be allocated or the labour of the individual cultivates the possessions. Within the commonwealth, Locke believes all people should have equal access to freedom and civil interests. Children should be educated with reason by parents and then deemed responsible when they reach adulthood. Political power resembles the right of making and enforcing the laws. The laws in

Locke feels that this system of government is lacking in that the ruler has all control, and may not be stopped in abuses of power, which Locke fears. Humans beings decide to form a society out of the state of nature because there must be unity among men in order to protect one another, and so that they may punish offenders of the justice. Men do this under the rule of an indivdual who is selected by the people, and to whom the people give up some of their personal rights.Though humans give up certain rights to the chosen authoriy, they are entitled to certain rights reserved to them alone, which they hold within the society. All members of the society should be equal under the law of justice, and that no man is better than another, since all men are created equal, and all are equal before the laws of nature. The law of nature states that people attain property through the labour they do.The ruler or authority over a society should be an indivdual

John Locke linked human behavior with our nature. He argued in his works that men are governed and guided by the rules within our nature. “The state of Nature has a law of Nature to govern it, which obliges every one, and reason, which is that law, teaches all mankind who will but consult it, that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions.” (2nd Treatise.6) Even without any manmade laws that specifically guide us what and how to do a certain thing, we are programmed to follow basic rules mutually understood by every human on Earth. Locke brought up that these rules discourage, in fundamental, people from gaining power by depriving that of others. He noticed, by specifically employing the word mankind, that the ability to accept and live by this rudimentary rule is the ultimate characteristic that makes us who we are. It is the ability to respect other’s

Locke’s main discussions of freedom took place in his work entitled Two Treatises on Government. These views were built upon the view of a natural state in which every individual maintained a state of natural freedom. In this natural state, each individual was free to make decisions and choose actions without any constraints. Locke felt that under this view every individual should maintain equal and independent and refrain from harming one another. However, the main problem in this concept of freedom is that fact that an individual’s free will can be constrained by the actions of another.

In England, 17 century is the time of the fundamental revolution of breakthrough took place and sprung up some influential political thinkers. John Locke is the forefather of liberty while William Godwin was one of the proponent of anarchism, and both of them are great English philosopher after the enlightenment who take significant influence on successors. This essay will focus on the views of Locke and Godwin on the origin and purpose of government, the extent of authority, as well as some opinions according to their flaws.