Analysis of john locke two treaties of government

He also looks at the capacity of the people to dissolve their government if it fails to adhere to the trust bond put in place between the governor and the people being governed. 1 The discussion of the Treaties commences with the man’s state of nature. The state asserts that all men are born equal and can maintain order regarding their lives and poverty. Also, the state perceives that men are governed by some voice of reason and will always fight for the preservation of humankind. It is notable that when a man goes against the laid down laws of nature and infringes the rights of another man, the society stands the right of inflicting punishment on the doer as a correction mechanism.

Furthermore, Locke emphasizes that even when a man is elected to power among other men, there is still the degree of equality that must exist between the leader and the servant and hence authorities should not exercise arbitrary or absolute powers over their people. While it is revealed that Locke was a feminist, he did not stop advocating for the ideas that ensured prosperity for both men and women. Locke did not believe that in a family setup, the father's power was absolute but rather the mother also had a significant role to play over their children. In the same point of view, Locke highlighted the fact that the bible does not indicate in any sense that children should be the honor of their father or that husbands should have absolute dominance over their wives.

3 Thus, there should be coordinated equality that puts each party an equal level of making an informed decision. 5 It should also be noted if a man brings up force against another man, they have in an actual sense placed themselves in a state of war with their partner. For this reason, all men have the right to punish their aggressors for violating the law of nature and further exhibiting discontent to society. In as much as Locke does not own negative opinion about humanity as his contemporary Thomas Hobbes, he acknowledges that men need to form a civil society so that they can take on the difficulties that arise from violating the rights of others and the rules of nature in the best of their interest.

Locke contends that the desire to create and protect the property of another person should be paramount in the establishment of a civil government. In this regard, the property will entail aspects such as liberty, people's lives and their possessions. In case it turns out that the rulers of the commonwealth are the ones infringing the rights of the man towards protecting their property, then what they are merely doing is creating a war between themselves and their subjects. Locke theorizes that it is the only power that provide value. 7 Thus, nine-tenths of the products that men use on the earth are useful and come from their labor and not nature. When people agree to be governed, a civil government will be established.

More often, people cannot be forced into allegiance or fall fealty to any given form of governance. The reason as to why men will decide to form a government is because they would like to remain compact, invest in their power and authority and guarantee their lives and property safety. 8 In the concept of government formation by men, Locke explains what the aspect of consent should constitute. He contends with the same school of thought that when a man owns property in the commonwealth, then they have agreed to abide by the rules of the democracy fully. He further mentions of an aspect called "tacit" consent which he refers to the lodging of traversing any of the road of the commonwealth which also constitutes disobedience.

Locke posits that man has the freedom to own property when they want and they should move from one commonwealth to the other at their convenience provided that they consent to the new laws of the land into which they are walking into. Furthermore, Locke illustrates that if the intention of the people forming a government is mainly to protect their property, then it becomes counterintuitive in allowing the absolute monarch to undertake anything that is against the will of the people and infringes their rights to property and possessions. In his assertion, Locke contends that an absolute monarch intends to rule subjectively, capriciously and often unpredictably. This is because of the lack of limitations in such a system and the fact that no one can pass accusation towards them.

As such, the people in this state have no natural appeal. This is a system where the leader has no affection for his people, and the primary reason what he does not destroy them is that they continuously bring profits to their industry. Locke denies that fact that people should be subjected under the control of a foreign government if they have legislative powers in place. In case the legislature is constituted of only individual representatives, then it would be prudent that elections be held at the most appropriate time. The limitations of power must be in place to protect the rights of other citizens and allow them to dissolve the government in a situation that it chooses to act against their will.