Natural Laws

John Locke?s piece called Second Treatise Government, was written to express his beliefs on how a government should be established. John Locke was born in 1632 and died in 1704. He was a statesman as well as a philosopher, a political theorist and a main contributor to the Enlightenment period. His piece Two Treatises on Government, paved the way to the writings of the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

John Locke used strong arguments to support his theories on human rights and the meaning of political power. For example, John states, “If government fails to fulfill the end for which it was established?. the people have the right to dissolve that government.” Locke believed that since the people established the government, than the people should run it, and laws developed for the good of the people.

Another belief of Locke?s was his view on taxes. Locke said, “They must not raise taxes on the people, without the consent of the people.” Locke thought the government should not have the right to tax property unless the people consent to the tax.

In closing, I share much of Locke?s beliefs and I wish the book, Sources of Western Tradition, had more of this piece. I believe that this piece indeed inspired our founding fathers to write the Bill of Rights and other historical pieces that formed our government.