John Locke (1632 – 1704)
John Locke (1632 – 1704) Locke was a leading philosopher and political theorist, who had a profound impact on liberal political thought. He is credited with ideas, such as the social contract – the idea government needs to be with the consent of the governed. Locke also argued for liberty, religious tolerance and rights to life and property. Locke was an influential figure on those involved in the American and French revolutions, such as Jefferson, Madison and Voltaire.
Highlisghts:
- From England/Great Britain
- Believed in natural laws and natural rights.
- At birth, the mind is a tabula rasa, a blank tablet. Everything we know comes from the experience of the senses – empiricism.
- We are born with rights because they are a part of nature, of our very existence – they come from god.
- At birth, people have the right to life, liberty, and property.
- Most famous works are the Two Treatises on Government.
- Rulers / governments have an obligation, a responsibility, to protect the natural rights of the people it governs.
- If a government fails in its obligation to protect natural rights, the people have the right to overthrow that government.
- The best government is one which is accepted by all of the people and which has limited power (Locke liked the English monarchy where laws limited the power of the king).
- Locke’s ideas influenced Thomas Jefferson more than anything else when Jefferson wrote the US Declaration of Independence in 1776.
- Locke justified revolution in the eyes of the Founding Fathers.
- Locke also influenced later revolutions in France (1789) and in many other places in the world in the 19th Century.
Quotes: Government's responsibility is to protect "Life, Liberty, and Property"
"No man's knowledge here can go beyond his experience."
"All mankind... being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions."
"I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts."
"The reason why men enter into society is the preservation of their property."
