Locke's Second Practice Of Government Essay

In an effort to reimagine politics and diverge from the fanciful teachings of the ancients, three optimistic realists emerged to begin a philosophical revolution. The garden of modern politics was begun by Machiavelli who cleared the land of the stones of antiquated virtue and tilled the soil. Then came Hobbes, who added the fertilizer of enlightened self-interest, the water of reason, and the seeds of human nature. Finally came Locke who, upon seeing that Hobbes’ seeds had grown into weeds of despotic monarchy, ripped them from the ground and replaced them with the seeds of liberalism. What Locke viewed as weeds, Hobbes viewed as the form of government most conducive to stability and peace. Locke’s Second Treatise of Government provides an argument against absolute hereditary monarchies while exalting liberalism as the paradigm of politics.
Locke begins his argument by invalidating the idea of divine right by asserting that, “it is impossible that rulers now on
To Locke’s claim that men cannot give away power they do not have, Hobbes would respond that the power of a sovereign “was not given, but left to him” because his power comes from nature, not from the people (XXVIII.2).
To Locke’s claim that a monarch would endanger private property, Hobbes would concede that in monarchy, any man “may be deprived of all he possesseth;” however, he would assert that “the same may as well happen... in an assembly” which has “kindred more numerous” and thus more corruption