Dear Readers,

"Post your essential nugget in the blog tonight." -Mr. Yarnall

Here is my "essential nugget".

John Locke - Two Treatises of Government

Who was John Locke?- an influential English philosopher. Locke pushed for the defense of liberty/freedom & the fact that constitutional government was to have an enduring influence in world history.

What did Locke advocate?- government should protect life, liberty, & poverty. (It is important to realize that at this time, liberty, or freedom, was not really a broad & definite concept or aspect of society.) Locke claimed that if a government ceases to protect these three concepts & function for the people, the people have the right to dissolve or overthrow the ruler. When the government is dissolved, the people then have the right to reform the governmental set-up & create a new civil state in their best interest. Locke hoped that his ideas would support England's need for a solution to an English monarchy that had abused its power & privilege.

What did Locke think of people?- we are all born with a blank slate (Tabula rasa) & it is society & government that corrupts us for either good or bad. Locke believed that all people have the ability to use reason to seek out the correct moral path, insisting that we are rational beings. Belief in this is essential to Locke's remedy for civil war - civil government. Locke believed that people voluntarily create societies & governments as government provides something that the state of nature cannot - protection & stability. The maintenance of personal liberty is extremely important when deeming a government proper or not.

Where do we find Locke's ideas later on in history?- in the Declaration of Independence!

Refer to this link for the excerpt: http://history.hanover.edu/courses/excerpts/111locke1.html

When John realized he unLOCKEd the answer to government.

xoxo,

Nicole Flo :)