John Locke's Letter Concerning Toleration

destroy.” and that is very true. You can tell by this document that John Locke was a

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 and Thomas Hobbes both believe that men are equal in the state of nature, but their individual opinions about equality lead them to propose fundamentally different methods of proper civil governance. Locke argues that the correct form of civil government should be concerned with the common good of the people, and defend the citizenry’s rights to life, health, liberty, and personal possessions. Hobbes argues that the proper form of civil government must have an overarching ruler governing the people in order to avoid the state of war. I agree with Locke’s argument because it is necessary for a civil government to properly care for its citizens, which in turn prevents the state of war from occurring in society. Locke also has a

This paper is about John Locke who was a philosopher in the 17-century. He was an Englishmen and his ideas formed the basic concept for the government and laws, which later allowed colonist to justify revolution. I agree with what Locke is saying because everybody should be able to have their own freedom and still respect the freedom of other people. John said, “Individuals have rights, and their duties are defined in terms of protecting their own rights and respecting those of others”. This paper will present to you information about his enlightenment, personal information, and how we as people feel about his decisions.

In John Locke’s A Letter Concerning Tolerance, he discusses his opinion towards options. Being able to

James Madison strongly believed and supported increasing national power of government and that led him to establish his model known as Madison’s model. James Madison’s design to maximize liberty and still allow the government to govern is proven through the four component parts of Madison’s model. These four components include separation of powers, checks and balances, federalism, and republicanism. The philosophies of John Locke and Thomas Hobbes influenced Madison in a way that allowed him to have both liberty and order at the same time. John Locke believed in individual liberty and freedom from the government whilst Thomas Hobbes believed that the state of nature is that people are born selfish. These two philosophers managed to influence Madison because Madison wanted liberty but also wanted order and that was mentioned in Hobbes’s theory of a strong leader which provided order.

John Locke was an english philosopher who expressed his idea of civil governments. In the documents, John Locke expresses the idea on what a civil government is formed by. John Locke describes the beginning steps to achieving a political power which is the law of nature. In the law of nature, Locke expresses how men are all free to do as they please without the consent of another man. “We must consider what estate all men are naturally in, and this is, a state of perfect freedom to order their actions, and dispose of their possessions and persons as they think fit, within the bounds of law of Nature, without asking leave of depending upon the will of any other man” (Documents 81)

John Locke’s views on rebellion and civil disobedience puts emphasis on the “state of nature” of man. He determines that man is naturally in this state of nature, meaning man has the power to resolve his issues himself. The only way for a man to execute his personal justice is for his personal property to be damaged by another man. Retaliating only to the extent of the crime committed. When brought together, these men formed a community and the only way for them to function was to implement restrictions on this state of nature in exchange for the protection by the Executive and peace provided by the Legislative. If any of these rules were to be broken it would be punished by the executive and not the person the crime was committed against. Locke stated that if the legislature was to overturned due to a portion of the community rebeling, then a new legislature implicated. This exposes the people to the danger of a naturally state of mind but in a large body. The rest of the people have no other choice but to protect their property themselves, creating a civil war.

John Locke presents ideas within “Toleration and Government” which form a liberal ideology. The aim of this paper is to identify the strengths and weaknesses within John Locke’s ideology. Paragraph I will discuss the main concepts in the text. Paragraph II will identify the ideology’s explanation of political phenomena, it’s criteria and standards of explanation, and it’s cultural and social orientation. Paragraph III exemplifies elements which I found strong within Locke's work.

Firstly, he argues that the "Care of Souls" cannot be entrusted to a Magistrate more than any other man.  People are individually responsible for their own salvation, and no man has been given a natural authority over another man's salvation.  After all, according to the dominant religious traditions, all men are equal in the eyes of God.  Even in the absence of natural authority, one cannot even confer an artificial authority to a Magistrate.  Why?  Because salvation is an individual responsibility.  But what if the Magistrate were to enact a law contrary to religious belief?  In such a case, civil obedience would mean hypocrisy - and this would be immoral.  One must never be made to choose between religion and state.  Secondly, the Magistracy wields only an outward force, whereas true salvation lies in one's inward resolve.  He writes:  "Such is the nature of the Understanding, that it cannot be compell'd [sic] to the belief of any thing by outward force."2  Moreover, enjoining righteousness is not the monopoly of the Magistracy; it is a right belonging to all people.  Thirdly, Locke argues that with so much disparity between religious opinions, all states would be in conflict.  In such cases, he argues:

And as we have highlighted the conceptions of liberty for both Locke and Tocqueville, it becomes apparent that each author’s theory results in a different concept of the ideal governmental role and structure, as well as the corresponding role of liberty within each structure. For Locke, government holds an extensive role in the life of the citizenry. Locke argues that the central government should (due to the citizenry granting it the powers to act via the commonwealth) exercise power and authority, allowing it to fulfill its raison d’être to protect citizen’s life, liberty, and property. Though, it is important to note that Locke does not grant government an infallible role in society, or one that is without boundaries. Locke argues that “whenever the legislators endeavor [my italics] to take away, and destroy the property of the people, or to reduce them to slavery under arbitrary power, they put themselves into a state of war with the people, who are thereupon absolved from any farther obedience, and are left to the common refuge, which God hath provided for all men, against force and violence.”

According to John Locke, consent of the governed is essential for the government to function and act as a mediator for the citizens. This brings up the question of how people consent to their government because only few people explicitly give their consent. This would seem to entail that the government is not actually legitimate. Locke's solution to this problem is that people give their tacit consent to create legitimate government. If they could not give non-explicit forms of consent, it would be impossible for every man to consent to a law (Copleston, 1956, 70).

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

My understanding is backed by a later statement of Locke’s where he notes that Papists and Lutherans “acknowledge nothing by the Holy Scriptures to be the rule” (Locke 56). So while the entire book is based on the tolerance of other religions, he is very specific about the extent of toleration. His very first paragraph of the letter has a statement which mentions that religious toleration should be pushed, but only in full to religions that believe in the fact that, “toleration to be the chief Characteristic Mark of the True Church” (Locke 23). To me, it sounds like this statement is saying that the only real religion is one that allows for a level of autonomy and freedom, which to Locke, would not include Catholics or Lutherans.

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.