John Locke Views On Government

In 1981, the nation was a loose confederation of states, which each operated like an independent country. The government had no judicial branch or executive officer. It lacked the authority to enforce its requests for money or troops from states. Since recently earning independence, the founders and public sought to protect the following in the Constitution: freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of religion, the right to bear arms, the right to not be subject to unreasonable seizures or searches, the right to not be forced to quarter soldiers, the right to due process of the law, the right to a fast and public trial by jury with counsel, the right to a civil trial by jury, the right to not be subjected to excessive bail and cruel punishment, and protection of state’s rights. Current protections and responsibility of states and Americans found in the U.S. Constitution were based upon John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government, the Magna Carta, and the English Bill of Rights.

From Aristotle to John Locke to Thomas Jefferson, the ideas of great philosophers influenced the foundations of the United States. When Jefferson began writing the Declaration of Independence, he wanted to make this new country based on the basic fundamentals. He wanted to base the country on what was considered the natural laws. Jefferson had many philosophical minds to ponder when writing the document, such as Aristotle and most importantly John Locke.

What would the American government be like today if it was not for the mind and political theory of John Locke? Some historians and philosophers believe that without John Locke our government would only be a shadow of what it is today. Arguably, one of his most important political and philosophical works was his Two Treatises of Government. There he argues that the function of the state is to protect the natural rights of its citizens, primarily to protect the right to property. John Locke, in many eyes, can be viewed as one of the father’s of Democracy. He embraced many of ideas in his theories on the state of nature and the rise of political society today. In Locke’s political society,

Locke’s writing helped inspired many, but impacted mostly the western philosophy (“John Locke: Biography.”) In Locke’s milestone, Two Treatises of Government claimed his revolutionary viewpoint, the natural rights of man and the social contract (“James Harrington Encyclopedia.”) Both impression not only overwrought in England, but also encounter the cognoscenti that formed the later American French Revolution. At the time of England’s downfall, Locke became involved in creating a clear objective for the government. Locke believed the government should be limited and should protect the life, property, and liberty of citizens. Locke wanted a government that met the needs of the people, which is what the makers of the constitution took into account when they set up the legislative branch. The legislative branch is made up of the Senate and House of Representatives. Locke was a long time influence of America, especially when he said “being all equal

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

The Second Treatise of Government provides Locke's theorizes the individual rights and involvement with the government; he categorizes them in two areas -- natural rights theory and social contract. 1.Natural state; rights which human beings are to have before government comes into being. 2.Social contact; when conditions in natural state are unsatisfactory, and there's need to develop society into functioning of central government.

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

When thinking about the role of government in society, everyone has different opinions on what part government should play in their lives. In Locke’s, Second Treatise on Civil Government, the governments primary role is to ensure that people achieve equal natural rights and that they protect the property of its citizens. When beginning to think about that idea, it seems relatively simple and a proper position for the government, and it is, but one must dive deeper into the text and develop ones’ own opinions. Locke’s argument that government should protect natural rights and property is a valid argument with its core components; and the arguments that you are able to point out in it such as using property in a beneficial, and humans being fond of material possessions, helps one understand Locke’s argument and makes it stronger. Being able to relate Locke’s aim of government to present day also enhances the overall scope of this particular Lockean argument.

When looking at the Declaration of Independence and the justifications which Jefferson used in order to encourage the dissolve of the ties between the United Colonies and Great Britain, it becomes apparent how much of the theories of John Locke that Jefferson used as the basis for his argument. Focusing particularly on the second paragraph of the Declaration, the arguments for the equality of each man and the formation and destruction of governments come almost directly from Locke's Second Treatise of Government. The other arguments in the Declaration of Independence deal primarily with each citizen's rights and the natural freedoms of all men, two areas that Locke also spent

The American Revolution, initiated in 1775, sought to gain sovereignty from Great Britain. Doing so would protect from the political domination Britain was pressing on the American colonists. Many of the revolutionaries and founders of the early United States government based the logic of the American Revolution on the work of 17th-Century English philosopher John Locke. He believed that all individuals possessed certain “natural rights”-such as life, liberty and the pursuit of property; and that when the ruling government violated these rights, the people had the right to revolution against their rulers. The violation of these rights is called political domination. In John Locke’s book Second Treatise of Government, he notably explains that

When the topic of government and politics in America come to mind, the first question that crosses my mind is where did the ideas come from when forming a government? Most people who would answer that would say our “Founding Fathers”. This seems realistic, but the ideas that our founding fathers obtained had to come from somewhere. During the post revolution America, soon to be Americans had no idea on how to approach a way to stand up

John Locke was born on August 29, 1632, into a middle class family during late Renaissance England. Locke started his studies at Christ Church in Oxford. He then went into medical studies and received a medical license, which he practiced under Anthony Cooper. They became friends, and when Cooper became Earl of Shaftesbury, Locke was able to hold minor government jobs and became involved in politics. Shaftesbury steered Locke towards the views of a government whose law was fair to all, and all were under the law.

John Locke (1689) and Thomas Hobbes (2010) share a common underlying concern: establishing a social contract between the government and the governed. To be legitimate, government must rest in the final analysis on the “consent” of the governed, they maintain. They also share a common view of humanity as prone to selfishness (Morgan, 2011 p. 575-800). Given the modern era, Hobbes views of the state of nature and government seem antiquated; no longer do the masses wish to be subservient to anyone man without question. Lockean principals are now the base for today’s modern, just, prosperous and free states.

In the society illustrated by John Locke, the human nature is characterized as free and independent; however, the problem with society is that it has too many small inconveniences, which could be as trivial as a tree blocking the sidewalk. To solve these problems, a legitimate government, characterized by explicit consent, checks on institutions and the right to revolt by the people, is needed. The utmost legitimate government, in comparison to Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, is based on John Locke’s social contract in Second Treatise of Government because each aspect of a legitimate government protects the citizen’s life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Through each aspect, the people can actively participate in government to prevent the sovereign from taking advantage of their powers to further their own goals.

John Locke’s Views on Property and Liberty, as Outlined in His Second Treatise of Government