What Is John Locke's Two Treatises Of Civil Government

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.

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

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.

Locke wrote the Second Treatise of Civil Government in 1690. It was written as a defense of the overthrow of King James II and rise to power of William and Mary. This was known as the Glorious Revolution.

To Locke, the “State of Nature” is a state in which every human being is his own king, who answers to no higher authority than his own conscience and will. Although this “State of Nature” offers complete freedom; this freedom is accompanied by an amorphous mass of fears and insecurities that stem from devolution that Locke called the “State of War”. The “State of War” occurs when one individual tyrannizes another (either to enslave him or to take over his property) and the victim of this relationship rightfully decides to defend himself. In the “State of War” the tyrant tries to deprive the individual of the rights that he is naturally entitled to.

John Locke once said that “If government fails to fulfill the end for which it was established the preservation of the individual’s right to life, liberty, and property…” What Locke meant is in a society the people and the government have a social contract where the people give some of their rights in exchange for the protection of their lives and remaining liberties. The liberties that we are entitled to can be derived from the state of nature where all men are born free. The state of nature and Locke’s Second Treatise on Government were written during the age of the Enlightenment. The age of the Enlightenment has influenced major events throughout history such as the French and American revolutions and still has influence in our society today. The influence of the age of the Enlightenment can be seen in the

The United States was created by the separation from a tyrannical king. A new colony formed in pursuit of one topic; religious freedom. The founding fathers were arranged to present relief from the king’s ruling. In a time of desperation, the founding fathers were pushed into creating a new form of government that would meet the needs of the people, yet still maintain ordinance. The Mayflower Compact was the first blueprint for the establishment of democracy used present. However, John Locke’s second treatise of government and the Magna Carta is what really gave the founding fathers the foundation that shaped the government known today.

John Locke was an exemplary English philosopher. He argued in his book, The Second Treatise of Government, that governments need to be controlled through the interests of the citizens safety and preservation. Preservation is not just limited to life, but also the protection of liberty and property. Natural rights and the social contract allows this to be ensured. In fact, he states that, “ “.

Locke’s ideas on government focus primarily on the role of property. All men are born in a state of natural equality (Locke,

Locke also claimed that for a government to be legitimate the people must freely surrender some of their power. They do so to foster a stable, comfortable and enjoyable life. His point of view on political legitimacy explains that the starting-point at which the state of nature begins is one in which all individuals are equally free to act within the constraints of natural law and no individual is subject to the will of another. He said that the normative concept of political legitimacy is often seen as related to the justification of authority. He understands that the state of nature is one of equal rights. In the Natural laws state, according to John Locke this is not adequately specific to rule a society but cannot enforce it when violated. To this he suggested a solution this is a social contract that transfers political authority to a civil state that can realize and secure the natural laws.

As a result of severe starvation and discontent, revolts began rising throughout France, and eventually Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were deposed and decapitated by French revolutionaries. After shuffling through a series of new leaders and legislatures, a man named Robespierre came to power. Robespierre incited fear throughout France by fueling a period of time known as the Reign of Terror. Over this short 15-month period, over 40,000 French citizens died (PBS 1). Many died due to being executed, while others starved to death or became extremely sick.

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’s “Two Treatises of Government” is one of the founding documents of Libertarian thought. John Locke takes the stance that monarchy is not an effective form of government because it is fundamentally flawed in its theocratic nature. He refutes the belief that one person can be endowed by God to rule because all people are born free and equal. Because all people are equal, government can only exist with the consent of the people. He also omits religion in his ideal form of government, which is against the Anglican rule of Britain at the time.

In John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government he argues the importance of the state of mind called the state of nature. The state of nature exemplifies a man’s freedom of choice. The same idea is mirrored in Immanuel Kant’s What is Enlightenment, in regards to the importance of achieving enlightenment. Enlightenment is the process of ridding oneself of immaturity though induvial thought. Although, the intellectual capacity is important for governing man, it is not a strong enough influence. I will argue that man needs more of a uniting factor then just a mental state. This factor must be government, which serves the purpose of persevering a man as an individual.

John Locke’s Second Treatise on Government presents a contrast of ideas comparing the law of nature and the government. Locke begins to explain the meaning and purpose behind the law of nature. Locke states that the law of nature teaches us that all mankind is equal and has the right to independence. No one is allowed to harm another's life, liberty, health and possessions. Locke exclaims how one man does not hold a higher status than another man. With that being said, a man must learn how to preserve the rest of mankind. Every man has the right to initiate punishment and “be executioner of the law of nature”. Although as the excerpt moves to chapter nine, Locke discusses why one would give up their freedom in order to join a society with others.