Summary Of John Locke's Second Treatise Of Government

In John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government, a central theme Locke decides to pursue in the first chapter is his definition of political power. This definition is necessary for that it sets the precedence in what the call for a government is and how it differs from other social structures. Locke states the power of a government official over a subject can be differentiated from that of a father over his children, a master over his servant, a husband over his wife, and a lord over his slave. Locke asserts that unlike the personal power one imposes over an individual the power of the government is that of a different nature. Locke goes further in providing a definition in stating political power to be a right to make laws with the death penalty and consequently all subordinate penalties for regulating and preserving property, and to employ the force of the community in enforcing such laws and defending the commonwealth from external attack; all this being only for the public good. Locke seems to desire to show the differences in the relationship of a type of private power within man and how he handles his
While Locke realizes that man’s ability is dependent on the confines of nature he also states no-one has more power and authority than anyone else. Equality is in man’s nature. One might point to the time period that this piece was written, as many of the themes Locke presents such as the equality of man are present themes found in the founding documents of the United States. Locke like Hobbs speaks on liberty and states it is not a concept in which there are no constraints on how people behave rather Locke proposes the notion that one does not have the liberty to destroy himself, or even to destroy any created thing in his possession unless something nobler than its mere preservation is at