The central argument is that government’s purpose is the preservation of property, and when legislative or executive power transgresses this fundamental rule by attempting to grasp absolute power or destroy subjects’ property, it forfeits its authority. This forfeiture devolves power back to the people, who have the right to establish a new legislative to ensure their safety and security. The text posits that individuals enter society to preserve their property, and the legislative power is authorized to create laws guarding these properties, thereby moderating the dominion of every part of society.
The book defines political power as what individuals surrender to society and its governors with the trust that it will be employed for their good and the preservation of their property. It states that supreme power cannot take any part of a subject’s property without their consent. If legislators endeavor to take away property or reduce people to slavery under arbitrary power, they enter a state of war with the people, who are then absolved from obedience.
Key concepts
- Property — The possession of individuals, including their lives, liberties, and estates, which government is established to preserve.
- Legislative power — The authority to make laws that guard and fence the properties of all society members.
- State of war — A condition resulting when legislators attempt to destroy property or subject people to arbitrary power, absolving the people from further obedience.
- Breach of trust — The transgression of the legislative by attempting to grasp absolute power, leading to the forfeiture of their authority.
- Political power — The authority individuals possess in the state of nature and surrender to society for the preservation of their property.
Popular questions readers ask
- Locke states the lost middle papers "were more than all the rest" and contained a detailed refutation of Sir Robert Filmer. If these papers were rediscovered, how might their content alter or deepen our understanding of Locke's arguments in the "Second Treatise," particularly regarding the scope and nature of the challenges he sought to overcome?
- Locke explicitly states his purpose is to "establish the throne of our great restorer, our present King William; to make good his title, in the consent of the people." Explain how this immediate political agenda might shape the *types* of philosophical arguments Locke presents about the "true original extent and end of Civil Government," and what implications this has for the universal applicability of his theories.
- The preface mentions the English people "saved the nation when it was on the very brink of slavery and ruin." Without reading the core arguments of the Treatise, what fundamental assumptions about the nature of power, individual liberty, and the ultimate purpose of government can you infer Locke already holds, simply from this strong assertion?
- The title page states the work "DETECTED AND OVERTHROWN" the "FALSE PRINCIPLES AND FOUNDATION OF SIR ROBERT FILMER." Based solely on Locke's stated justification for King William's rule through "the consent of the people," how would you hypothesize the core difference between Filmer's "false principles" and Locke's "true original extent and end of Civil Government"?
- The text details various editions, collations, and Locke's "last Corrections and Improvements." How do these textual history details influence our approach to interpreting Locke's work, and what specific questions might a scholar ask about the evolution or stability of Locke's ideas given the existence of multiple authoritative versions?