Two Essays on Government

Author: (English) John Locke
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2005-10-01
Features: John Locke's Two Treatises of Civil Government were successively written and published in 1689 and 1690. Its fundamental spirit lies in defending and theoretically summarizing the so-called "Glorious Revolution" of England that had just ended in 1688. The first treatise focuses on refuting the reactionary arguments of the Royalist Filmer on the divine right of kings and hereditary monarchy, while the second treatise elaborates on Locke's own political theory on the parliamentary system. It is generally recognized that the second treatise is more theoretically valuable.
John Locke (1632–1704) was an exceptionally talented and versatile individual. During his youth, he studied at the University of Oxford, where he delved deeply into philosophy, natural sciences, and medicine. At the age of 34, Locke cured a long-standing and mysterious illness of the Earl of Shaftesbury (a prominent leader of the Whig Party in Britain at the time), forming a close friendship with the earl and beginning to engage in the core of British politics as his private secretary. He witnessed the tumultuous changes of the British bourgeois revolution firsthand. Two Treatises of Civil Government collects Locke's main political philosophical ideas, not only making him the synthesizer of classical liberal thought but also profoundly influencing later realpolitik. The work is divided into two treatises. The first treatise is primarily a debate against the divine right of kings theory held by the very famous British writer Filmer, carrying a strong sense of critiquing contemporary issues, which can be categorized as "deconstruction." In the second treatise, Locke focuses on "construction," explaining his main political ideas. Historically, when people discuss Locke's political thought, they primarily focus on the second treatise.
In 1689, Locke began writing Two Treatises of Civil Government, which was published in 1690, aiming to defend the legitimacy of the Glorious Revolution of 1688 in England. Upon its publication, the book immediately caused a sensation. Around its themes, in the second treatise, Locke proposed that the power of rulers should come from the consent of the ruled, and that the sole purpose of establishing a state is to ensure the safety of society and the natural rights of its people. When the government's actions contradict this purpose, the people have the right to take action, even through violent means, to reclaim power. In fact, like Hobbes, Locke also approached the question of the origin and source of political power from the concept of the "state of nature," discussing categories such as "natural law," "natural rights," and "contract." Therefore, in this sense, he is no different from Hobbes. However, Locke and Hobbes had significant disagreements right from the beginning of their arguments, particularly in their descriptions of the "state of nature."
Locke's described state of nature is a "state of complete liberty," where, within the bounds of natural law, everyone can decide their actions and manage their relationships with others according to what they deem appropriate, without being subject to the will of any other person. Although this state is not a utopian paradise, compared to Hobbes's depiction of a "war of all against all" where "man is wolf to man," it is instead a "state of peace, goodwill, mutual aid, and preservation."