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John Locke Influence On Government Essay

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“The only task of the government is the protection of private property because private property is a guarantee of individual freedom.” John Locke was an English Philosopher who lived through the early 1600s and was an essential individual that created the idea concerning “Life, Liberty, and Estate.” The ideas of the Founders’ about government were greatly influenced by Locke’s writings, particularly our Declaration of Independence. 1ST PARAGRAPH - What did Locke think would happen without government? A State of Nature is a society without government or laws. Locke believed when men became overpopulated enough to the point where land becomes scarce, then men needed law beyond the natural law. The natural law, although valid, was not always kept.The transgressor, who defies the natural law, can be punished by all men. Civil society starts when, for the betterment of the people, a few …show more content…

These rights are the rights to life, liberty, and estate. Everybody needs these rights, even people who are malevolent. By figuring out what life would be like in a state of nature, Locke was able to figure out what the government needs to fulfill in order to protect those rights which would not be protected with the state of nature. Even when were were still English colonies, we wanted the King to protect our rights. The government provides and strives to keep us safe and protect our rights whilst also benefiting the rest of the country. Locke states in his: an essay concerning the true original, extent and end of civil government, “Which is done by agreeing with other men to join and unite into a community for their comfortable, safe, and peaceable living one amongst another, in a secure enjoyment of their properties, and a greater security against any that are not of it.” Locke believed government was formed when people unite together to help protect their rights to “estate, life, and

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independent”. According to the state of nature, no man should endanger another man’s life, well-being, freedom, or possessions. Everyone is “obligated by the laws of nature to respect the rights of every man”, according to Locke. 2. It is necessary for man to give up certain liberties under the laws of nature when entering into society.

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One of the biggest influences that John Locke had on President Jefferson was, what John Locke dubbed, “Natural Rights,” and what Jefferson called, “Unalienable Rights.” Meaning practically the same thing, these rights were very similar, and it is obvious that Jefferson’s version derives from Locke’s ‘Natural Rights.’ John Locke’s version stated that all peoples shall possess the following rights: Life, Liberty, and Property. In this case, life means, that people people will fight to live and want to survive. Liberty refers to being free, and being able to make one’s own decision.

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511 Words | 3 Pages

John Locke, a 17th century philosopher from England, was a man who contained many ideas and theories on how particular civilizations should operate. John Locke philosophized “that there was an unspoken law amongst men known as “The Law of Nature” (“state of nature” Locke). The “law of nature” depicts a community in which there was only moral law. Thus the “law of nature” portrays a “state of perfect freedom where all men share their equality” (“state of nature”4). This statement basically states that “no one has power over another and are free (Locke 4)” to govern themselves accordingly.

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The historical development of the world from 1690 to 1830 wouldn’t be what it was if it weren’t for John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government. Locke’s Second Treatise not only sparked individualism, but also revolutions, and was a guide to the creations of declarations around the world. Two main revolutions and declarations that Locke’s ideas inspired were the American Revolution and the French Revolution.

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At the time that The Second Treatise of the Government was being written, there was a rise in monarchial government which prompted Locke to intensely indicate the main purpose of the state/political powers. In Locke’s opinion, as stated in Chapter VIII, “every man being, as has been shewed, naturally free, and nothing being able to put him into subjection of any earthly power but his own consent…” As explicitly noted in the quote, Locke holds consent as the foundation in any successful civil government. Without consent, the government is illegitimate and therefore does not fulfill the wishes of its own people. An absolute monarchy, frowned upon by Locke, has the potential to be ignorant of its people’s needs because a ruler in an absolute monarchy has no limitation to their power and therefore doesn’t need the consent of anyone. In addition, for a civil government to work well in a society, there must be a social contract that essentially outlines the ability for the people to remove it from power once it no longer satisfies them.

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Over-all, “natural law decides what actions would be ethically right, and what wrong, in a community that had no government; and positive law ought to be, as far as possible, guided and inspired by natural law.” What Locke says is simply that natural law guarantees to all men complete liberty and equality, while at the same time it forbids anyone to infringe upon the rights of anyone else, be they the rights of life, liberty or possessions. Obviously, if one has the right to life, he must have a right to the necessities of life’s preservation, one of the most vital of which is land, especially in the agricultural society. Also, if one has the right to property in land, he has that right, under natural law, only so far as the land is needed by him, not to the point of claiming another’s rightful

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1471 Words | 6 Pages

”(Locke’s Two Treatises of Government) In the state of nature without government protection, Locke believed people could be deprived of these rights. His basis for this belief comes from the Book of Genesis in which God gave Adam these same natural rights. “Man being born, as has been proved, with a title to perfect freedom, and uncontrolled enjoyment of all the rights and privileges of the law of nature, equally with any other man, or number of men in the world, hath by nature a power, not only to preserve his property, that is, his life, liberty, and estate, against the injuries and attempts of other men… ”(Kishlansky, pg.28)

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Overall, this is what Locke aims to make apparent in his book. Locke’s integration of his concepts of natural rights as well as the legitimate exercise of political power begins immediately in the first chapter. Locke begins with an idea of a community of free, equal individuals, all possessed of natural rights. Since these individuals will want to acquire goods and will ultimately come into conflict, Locke invokes a natural law of morality to govern them before they enter into society. Locke presumes people will

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Individuals in a state of nature are subject to a natural state of freedom and independence where every individual is equal. It is not until individuals join a political society that equalities are no longer balanced. While there are rights and equalities from the law of nature, according to Locke, those values begin to have stipulations once individuals voluntarily undertake and manipulate them much like power holders (the government) in a democracy. The government is limited to fulfilling the purposes of natural law, and it has the power to promote the common good that extends to actions designed to increase population, strengthen the economy, and so on. But with power and positive goals come negative reactions, as one becomes increasingly politically empowered then one becomes not only more power-hungry, but also greedy as well.

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The Declaration of Independence states, “--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…”. In the article Why Government, it states, “But Locke also believed that governments should protect people’s natural rights.” Both of these quotes show that the purpose for creating government, is so that the protection of the natural rights of the people is ensured. Also, the idea that these fair powers are just what Men (human beings) are receiving and what they should receive from the creation of governments. Both of these quotes combine with each other, because of the pinpointed idea of how the government was created in order to benefit to the natural rights of the people, and to protect these

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Locke’s definition of liberty depends on whether the person is in the state of nature, in which people are “without subordination or subjection” (Locke 101) or if they have formed into a commonwealth, or whenever “any number of men are so united into one society, as to quit every one his executive power of the law of nature, and resign it to the public” (Locke 137-38). In the Lockean state of nature, men have a “freedom to order their actions and dispose of their possessions and persons” (Locke 101). This freedom is still limited by what Locke refers to as the law of nature, or that “no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions” (Locke 102). He also defines the liberty of the state of nature as “not to be under any will or legislative authority of man” (Locke 109). In his form of commonwealth, there is more limited freedom, in which liberty is to “be under no legislative power, but that established, by the consent of the commonwealth” (Locke 110).

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Locke himself states that the chief end of uniting into a commonwealth is for the preservation of individuals’

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291 Words | 2 Pages

​The natural rights theory was a subject that was discussed by both Hobbes and Locke and it entailed certain natural rights that people are entitled to without government intervention. A state of nature is a condition which is rarely seen today, but nevertheless, represents a place where government does not exist. Because of Hobbes’ connections to the noble families in England, he was able to acquire a unique perspective on the role of government and the role it should play over its ruling citizens. In his view, the natural state of nature is a condition of chaos and should be brought back to order through proper government by means of which the implementation of equal rights can be granted to all people.

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The State of Nature, although a state wherein there is no civil authority or government to punish people for transgressions against laws, is not a state without morality. To Locke, persons are assumed to be equal to one another in such a state, and therefore equally capable of discovering and being bound by the Law of Nature. The Law of Nature, which is on Locke’s view the basis of all morality, and given to us by God, commands that we not harm others with regards to their life, health, liberty, or possessions. This is because we all belong equally to God, and because we cannot take away that which is rightfully His, we are prohibited from harming one another. So, the State of Nature is a state of liberty where persons are free to pursue their own interests and plans, free from interference, and, because of the Law of Nature and the restrictions that it imposes upon persons, it is relatively peaceful.

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Does reflecting on mankind’s natural condition help us to understand the circumstances under which political authority is justified? Introduction This essay is intended to raise analytical arguments, critics and understanding on if, political authority is justifiable under the circumstances of mankind’s natural condition. By mankind’s natural condition we mean ‘state of nature’. A look at Hobbes’ theories will be empirical in analysing the relevant arguments.

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