Second Treatise of the Government summary

Today it’s extremely simple to get the things you want. If you want an apple, for example, you simply walk into a grocery store, find an apple and pay for it.

But how would this work in a system without government or laws that govern such transactions?

Slavery has been abolished in nearly every corner of the globe for some time. However, at the end of the seventeenth century – when Locke was writing – things were different.

In this regard, however, Locke’s thoughts on slavery are quite enlightened for his time.

Who should have more power over you: your father or the king? Importantly, how are these two types of power different?

Locke believed that parents hold legitimate power over their children.

The subjugation of other nations and peoples by right of conquest is no longer a typical activity of nations. However, as in the case of slavery, the illegitimacy of conquest was far from decided in Locke’s time. Nevertheless, his thoughts on the subject remain insightful.

Throughout human history, aggressive groups and nations have attacked foreign societies with the intent to plunder their villages and subjugate their people. Think, for example, of William the Conqueror, who violently took the throne of England from King Harold in 1066.

Why is it that so many governments spread power among parliaments, prime ministers, presidents and so on?

Such systems are the result of one of Locke’s most important ideas, the separation of political powers.

People often complain about politicians overstepping their authority – but what, exactly, defines the parameters of their power?

Although legislative power is the highest political power, that doesn’t mean that its power is limitless.

Throughout history, and recently with the uprisings of the Arab Spring, people have decided to rebel against political authority.

This was no less true in the seventeenth century, when Locke was forming his ideas.