John Locke's Second Treatise On Government

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.

In the eighteenth century, the Enlightenment brought upon a new way of thinking. John Locke, an English philosopher, challenged the traditional way of thinking which had been based on faith and submission to authority. He believed that the power of the government resided in the people and that the people had natural rights, one being the obligation to remove a government that did not protect their rights. His words, as well of many of others during the period of

In the text “Second Treatise of Government” by John Locke various themes were presented such as the theme of Dissolution of Government and the Dissolution of the Society. If the society or government is corrupt then it won’t work in either way according to my opinion. In order to have a stable government, a stable society it is necessary to have which provides rules and regulations. Imagine a society without rules & regulations. How chaotic it must be without order and discipline. If both the government and the society work with each other it creates some form of order. In most countries today people do not have a voice in government. The feature I thought about in this particular chapter is about politics in general. I thought about

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 also believed that government should protect people's natural rights and people can revolt if the government fails or tries to take away peoples natural rights which were life, liberty and property. (doc5) Locke also wrote the 2 treaties of government where he argued that people form government to protect natural rights and the best kind of government had limited power and was accepted by all citizens. Montesquieu also believed that democracy was the best form of government and thought that the best way to protect liberty was to have the three branches of government legislative-creates laws, judicial-interprets laws and executive-enforces laws.(doc 6) He came up with the concept checks and balances which made sure that none of the branches of government had to much power, because they would watch over each other. In a book The Spirit of Laws he explained how he thought that this was the best government and how it was better than other governments throughout history and was a great way to protect liberty. Another ruler who believed that democracy was the best form of government as Rousseau. He believed that people in there natural state were mostly good. He put his faith in the "general will", and believed that the majority of the people should set forth their ideas about government. He put his ideas about society into the social contract.

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

John was the most influential political philosopher of the modern period. John wrote the two treatises of government in which he defended the claims that men are by nature “free and equal against claims that God had made all people naturally subject to monarchy” (). He also, argued that the people did have rights, such as, the right to life, liberty, and property, in which they have a foundation independent of the laws of any particular society. Locke also claimed that men are naturally free and equal as part of jurisdiction for understanding legitimate political government. Apparently, the government exists by the consent of the people and, that is in order to protect the rights of the people and promote the public good, for that reason if the government fails it can be resisted and replaced with a new government.

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.

These intellectuals attempted to generate an explanation for the purpose of government and expressed their ideal political structure to find a solution to the inequalities in the distribution of power. The changing intellectual and social perceptions of the human condition led to new insights and questions of the way in which humans were ruled: “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.” (Rousseau 2). This conveys The Philosophe belief that liberty is lost when political rule is too strict, to the point where one is unable to truly live. John Locke deduced in his two Treatises on Government that humans have natural born rights to life, liberty and property (“Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu and Rousseau on Government”). His ideal government protected these natural rights and permitted the freedom of its people to conduct their lives in a way that they see as best fit. He believed that the government existed to serve the people’s will, thus the power laid in the majority (“Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu and Rousseau on Government”). Thomas Hobbes had an opposing view to that of Locke’s government. Hobbes advocated for the monarchy and absolutism, as this form provides strong political stability (Elahi 2). He believed that the people were indebted to the government and protected by the ruler, only if they surrendered their rights and freedoms under a social contract (Elahi 3). Jean

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 went into government when he became friends with the first earl, a high bishop noble, of Shaftesbury, where he defined natural rights as life, liberty, and property. When he defined the natural he affected Americas Founding Fathers. He wrote two major books to the government called First and Second Treatise. These books were written to defend the Glorious Revolution. In the second treatise he explained to them that men and women were free to pursue and defend their own interest. This led to a brutal war. Locke note that the only way out was to make a social compact. What it means is that people will have freedom to themselves with having a government and laws.

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.

Some of the founding fathers have been firm believers in the ideas posed in John Locke’s “Second Treatise of Government”. The one idea that can be seen quite clearly is the complete dissenting stance taken by Locke on the thought of monarchy in civil government. “Absolute monarchy,

Locke’s thought on having a king, laws, and a civil society under a social contract was so all men can enjoy and protect their rights. Where all men obtain the right to life, all humans have the right to live and life shouldn't be taken away from another human being. The right to liberty, protecting an individual's freedom and unreasonable detention. The right to property, a citizen in which Locke thought a human's labour was his own, anything created or made should remain that individuals as well and the right to rebel against unjust rulers and laws.

As a result of looking through Thomas Hobbes’ view on monarchy and John Locke’s view on democracy, both perspectives provide a vast amount of information of an ideal government. In Locke’s book, Second Treatise of Government, chapter 11 is devoted to legislative power, which Locke identifies as the most important part of the government. Locke provides rules for this legislative power. The first is the preservation of society. No one can challenge the power of the legislative body, or pass laws of their own. This power is invested in the body of the majority. In this chapter, he brings up a constant