John Locke’s Approach to State Power
Today, many of the biggest political questions focus on how much control states should have over their citizens and how much power individual citizens should be afforded. This debate has roots in the theories of political theorists who lived many years ago. One of the most influential political theorists of all time is John Locke. In this article, we will give an overview of John Locke’s approach to state power and its lasting impact on politics.
Who Was John Locke?
John Locke was an English philosopher in the 1600s whose life spanned the British Civil War and the Enlightenment. He was arguably the most influential political theorist of the time, particularly for his work on the nature of government and his theories of consent, natural rights, and the social contract. Locke is credited with laying the foundations of modern liberal thought surrounding civil, religious, and political freedom.
John Locke’s Theory on State Power
John Locke believed that a government was legitimate if it was based on the express consent of the people. He argued that individuals were naturally free, equal and independent, with rights to life, liberty, and property. As such, individuals were sovereign over their lives, and governments were formed through a social contract between the people and the rulers. Legitimate governments, then, must obtain the agreement of the people they ruled.
John Locke argued that governments should be actively limited in their power. He had a realistic perspective on power and argued that all forms of government could become corrupt. To prevent government corruption, Locke proposed that governments could protect the life, liberty, and property of their people by instituting constitutional restrictions. He also highlighted that governments could be held accountable by allowing citizens to have the right to a representative government, the right to alter their government, and the right to rebel if the government was abusive.
The Separation of Powers
One of most cited works from Locke’s Second Treatise of Government is his argument for limiting and separating political power, which he known as the “separation of powers”. This idea proposed that government power should be divided into the three branches of legislative, executive, and judicial. Each branch should then be separate and distinct, with their own sets of roles and responsibilities, and none should have too much power. The separation and balancing of power created through this form of government was seen as a safeguard against tyranny.
The Natural Rights of Man
John Locke has also argued extensively about what he termed “natural rights”. This idea suggests that all persons are born with certain rights by virtue of being human, and that these rights should be protected by government. He argued that these rights should not be ignored in favor of the power of the state. Locke believed that these natural rights included rights to life, liberty, and exclusion from the fruits of one’s labor; these three rights were widely accepted as the foundation of all civil rights within the social contract.
Role of Locke’s Theories Today
Locke’s theories remain influential in modern politics. His idea of limited government and that the power of the state should be balanced is ever more relevant with the increasing powers of governments around the world. These theories have had an influence on the construction of the United States’ founding document, the Constitution. Additionally, Locke’s idea of natural rights is the basis for many modern theories of human rights on an international scale.
John Locke was one of the most influential political theorists of our time. His theories on limited government, expressed consent, and natural rights have been drawn on for centuries in many different nations as a basis for their form of government. Locke argued that governments should be limited, divided, and accountable to their citizens, and this is a fundamental principle of modern democratic governments today.
