What Did Locke Think Would Happen Without Government
SPEECH: QUESTION 1 UNIT 1
INTRO
“The only task of the government is protection of private property.” John Locke was an English Philosopher who lived through the early 1600s and was an essential individual that created the idea concerning “Life, Liberty, and Property.” The ideas from the Founders’ about government mainly consisted Locke’s writings.
1ST PARAGRAPH - What did Locke think would happen without government? A State of Nature is a society without government or laws. Locke believed when men became overpopulated enough to the point where land becomes scarce, then men needed law beyond the natural law. The natural law, although valid, was not kept. All men have the right to punish the transgressor. Civil society starts when, for the …show more content…
betterment of the people, a few selected officials delegate the function to punish. Thus, government is instituted by a “social contract.” Government is limited to the power the people give them, and it involves reciprocal obligations. Moreover, the government can be rescinded and modified by the authority, which conferred them: the people. Locke thought that without government the people could accomplish little and be under constant threat and duress. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy says under John Locke: “The state of nature was inherently unstable. Individuals would be under contrast threat of physical harm. And they would be unable to pursue any goals that required stability and widespread cooperation with other humans. Locke’s claim is that government arose in this context. Individuals, seeing the benefits which could be gained, decided to relinquish some of their rights to a central authority while retaining other rights. This took the form of a contract. In agreement for relinquishing certain rights, individuals would receive protection from physical harm, security for their possessions, and the ability to interact and cooperate with other humans in a stable environment.” This proves that Locke believed that without government, society would be chaos.
2ND PARAGRAPH - What did Locke believe to be the purpose of government? John Locke believed that the purpose of government was to protect the natural rights. These rights are the rights to life, liberty, and property. Everybody needs these rights, even people who are malevolent. By figuring out what life would be like in a state of nature, Locke was able to figure out what the government needs to fulfill to protect those rights which would not be protected in the state of nature. The government provides and strives to keep us safe and protect our rights whilst also benefiting the rest of the country. “Which is done by agreeing with other men to join and unite into a community for their comfortable, safe, and peaceable living one amongst another, in a secure enjoyment of their properties, and a greater security against any that are not of it.” This is government. Locke believed government was formed when people unite together to help protect their rights to property, life, and liberty.
3RD PARAGRAPH - Do you think government might have purposes that Locke did not mention? Explain your answer.
Government does not have purposes outside of the ones Locke mentioned.
When the government decides to go ‘above and beyond,’ it most likely results in affliction to our rights. For example: Obamacare provided and forced people to buy health care. Should the people have health care? Of course they should have , but forcing people to buy something that they do not want and setting standards for the other insurance companies, limits the people’s rights to property. This will eventually becomes a big issue because when someone limits or takes away the right to property, people loose moral and are not therefore happy. One of the main purposes in life is to achieve your goals and be happy. Another issue is when the government taxes businesses more than need be. The businesses do not suffer from this. We do. They just raise the price on their products. The more the government taxes them the price just increases. And all those labels on products? We know when the food we are eating is terrible for us. Sure, in the progressive era there were some meatpacking problems, and we fixed those, but that was a problem with the company not the consumer. The labels are a little bit much. It just charges the people more. When government puts taxes on sugary drinks, people have the right to drink them. Yes, they shouldn’t drink them, but they have the right to. This is also a consumer issue, just taking away choice instead of protecting us from ‘bad companies’. The tariffs are ‘protecting’ the
people while taking away the rights of the people. John Locke said the purpose of government is to protect and secure the people’s rights that cannot be protected in a state of nature. The government should do no more than that.
CONCLUSION
“Life, Liberty, and Property,” were 3 remarkable concepts that shaped the belief of John Locke. He formed the idea regarding no government to rule over, but also protect the citizens which he called, “State of Nature.” Throughout history, Locke formed essential ideas, that we analyze now to understand what would have happened if Locke didn’t react the way he did.
INTRO
“The only task of the government is protection of private property.” John Locke was an English Philosopher who lived through the early 1600s and was an essential individual that created the idea concerning “Life, Liberty, and Property.” The ideas from the Founders’ about government mainly consisted Locke’s writings.
1ST PARAGRAPH - What did Locke think would happen without government? A State of Nature is a society without government or laws. Locke believed when men became overpopulated enough to the point where land becomes scarce, then men needed law beyond the natural law. The natural law, although valid, was not kept. All men have the right to punish the transgressor. Civil society starts when, for the …show more content…
betterment of the people, a few selected officials delegate the function to punish. Thus, government is instituted by a “social contract.” Government is limited to the power the people give them, and it involves reciprocal obligations. Moreover, the government can be rescinded and modified by the authority, which conferred them: the people. Locke thought that without government the people could accomplish little and be under constant threat and duress. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy says under John Locke: “The state of nature was inherently unstable. Individuals would be under contrast threat of physical harm. And they would be unable to pursue any goals that required stability and widespread cooperation with other humans. Locke’s claim is that government arose in this context. Individuals, seeing the benefits which could be gained, decided to relinquish some of their rights to a central authority while retaining other rights. This took the form of a contract. In agreement for relinquishing certain rights, individuals would receive protection from physical harm, security for their possessions, and the ability to interact and cooperate with other humans in a stable environment.” This proves that Locke believed that without government, society would be chaos.
2ND PARAGRAPH - What did Locke believe to be the purpose of government? John Locke believed that the purpose of government was to protect the natural rights. These rights are the rights to life, liberty, and property. Everybody needs these rights, even people who are malevolent. By figuring out what life would be like in a state of nature, Locke was able to figure out what the government needs to fulfill to protect those rights which would not be protected in the state of nature. The government provides and strives to keep us safe and protect our rights whilst also benefiting the rest of the country. “Which is done by agreeing with other men to join and unite into a community for their comfortable, safe, and peaceable living one amongst another, in a secure enjoyment of their properties, and a greater security against any that are not of it.” This is government. Locke believed government was formed when people unite together to help protect their rights to property, life, and liberty.
3RD PARAGRAPH - Do you think government might have purposes that Locke did not mention? Explain your answer.
Government does not have purposes outside of the ones Locke mentioned.
When the government decides to go ‘above and beyond,’ it most likely results in affliction to our rights. For example: Obamacare provided and forced people to buy health care. Should the people have health care? Of course they should have , but forcing people to buy something that they do not want and setting standards for the other insurance companies, limits the people’s rights to property. This will eventually becomes a big issue because when someone limits or takes away the right to property, people loose moral and are not therefore happy. One of the main purposes in life is to achieve your goals and be happy. Another issue is when the government taxes businesses more than need be. The businesses do not suffer from this. We do. They just raise the price on their products. The more the government taxes them the price just increases. And all those labels on products? We know when the food we are eating is terrible for us. Sure, in the progressive era there were some meatpacking problems, and we fixed those, but that was a problem with the company not the consumer. The labels are a little bit much. It just charges the people more. When government puts taxes on sugary drinks, people have the right to drink them. Yes, they shouldn’t drink them, but they have the right to. This is also a consumer issue, just taking away choice instead of protecting us from ‘bad companies’. The tariffs are ‘protecting’ the
people while taking away the rights of the people. John Locke said the purpose of government is to protect and secure the people’s rights that cannot be protected in a state of nature. The government should do no more than that.
CONCLUSION
“Life, Liberty, and Property,” were 3 remarkable concepts that shaped the belief of John Locke. He formed the idea regarding no government to rule over, but also protect the citizens which he called, “State of Nature.” Throughout history, Locke formed essential ideas, that we analyze now to understand what would have happened if Locke didn’t react the way he did.