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Who was John Locke?

John Locke was a British philosopher Oxford academic and Medical researcher. (August 29, 1632- October 28, 1704) He is known for his defense of individual rights, separation of powers, and religious toleration. His ideas influenced the Founding Fathers of the United States and are considered foundational to modern liberalism.

Social contract: Locke's theory of a social contract, where individuals give up some rights for protection, influenced the Declaration of Independence.

Separation of powers: Locke advocated for separation of executive, legislative, and judicial powers, which is a feature of the U.S. Constitution.

Right to revolution: Locke believed that citizens have the right to overthrow a despotic ruler.

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John Locke was a firm believer in equality and freedom. He spoke a lot on religion, promoting religious toleration which in turn promoted more religious freedom, and freedom in general. However he believed that the church from be separate from the government, and fought for such change. He believed this because he thought that the governments sole focus should be on civil matters, protecting property and maintaining order. He said religious matters should be entirely up to the individual, thus He made the claim of Religious Liberty. John Locke and his words still continue to spark civil rights movements.

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John Locke created the social contract, an agreement where civilians would give up some rights in exchange for protection and order. He also believed in the right to revolt, which said that if the people disagreed with something the government was doing, they had the right to change it. He refuted the idea of absolute monarchies, as well as kings/monarchs with "divine rights", further affirming his belief in a democracy.

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John Locke's political perspective was based on a very basic and democratic government. The idea of a '' Proponent of limited government'' his theory was the Natural Rights theory which is that people are born with basic rights. Another perspective included in his ideas is that the government has obligations to their citizens, could get overthrown over citizens, and must have controlled or limited power.

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All persons are endowed with natural rights to life, liberty, and property and that rulers who fail to protect those rights may be removed by the people, by force if necessary.

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John Locke's Economic perspective is centered around the concept that labor is the source of wealth, leading to a "labor theory of value," where individuals acquire property rights through their labor applied to land, and that the value of money is determined by its scarcity. He advocated for a favorable balance of trade to maintain a healthy national money stock. Locke’s ideas supported that personal property was an extension of one’s rights, influencing the development of free market.

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Money- A medium of exchange related to its quantity in circulation and too much can lead to inflation. A nation should strive to maintain a positive balance and accumulate wealth.

Locke's definition of money was correct if you look at our world today inflation is still an issue we have. Our current financial crisis is also very bad with new tariffs.

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Locke was against government imposed interest rates due to the belief that they would lead to negative consequences. His ideas on property right and government influenced the social contract theory. The target interest rate set by the Federal Reserve. When the federal funds rate increases or drops, it influences interest rates for savings accounts, credit cards and loans. Lower interest rates mean cheaper loans, but they also lead to lower rates for savings products.

This is important because we can also see this in our society today with the inflation and money issues.

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One way John Locke's ideas are seen in today's world is through individual rights and freedoms. For example, Deportation is something that has been controversial lately on the news, the debate is whether or not every immigrant should be deported regardless of their social status. His belief in natural rights like life, liberty, and property has influenced modern democratic societies. For example debates on privacy rights in the digital age and argument on equality and social justice can connect to Locke's principles. In conclusion John Locke's ideas still impact how we think about human rights and government today.

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An Issue that is currently important to us is the lack of equal rights. One thing Locke fought for was Liberty as he believed all should be equal, and in modern day society people of color are still oppressed just as much as women are. Locke would've continued to fight for the oppression to end, for the rights of all men and women to be significantly more equal then where they are now. Just as Locke believed in equality, but also the right to fight for it, we too believe that the pursuit of freedom and equality is something we should have by default, or by nature in Lockes words.