Arben Dukaj - John Locke by Arben Dukaj

Natural Rights

arbenatorpersonal — 2025-06-29 22:12:31 UTC

Natural rights are one of the many concepts conceived by John Locke in regards to freedom. This concept essentially claims that all human beings are granted a series of rights solely because they are human. These three rights are the right to life, liberty, and property. These rights are said to be afforded to people before the conception of government. This is in contrast to the idea that governments are the ones that hand out rights to their citizens.

Social Contract

arbenatorpersonal — 2025-06-29 22:12:36 UTC

The social contract is a concept conceived by John Locke describing the relationship between government and citizens. It describes a mutualistic agreement between the two parties. The concept is that citizens agree to give up some of their rights to the government in exchange for stability. This is supposed to be beneficial to everyone. Such an idea is contrast to the thoughts of the time, which viewed citizens as subjects of the government.

Limited Government

arbenatorpersonal — 2025-06-29 22:12:42 UTC

Limited government is a concept by John Locke used to describe the government's role in people's lives. John Locke states that the government's power should be limited and accountable to solely the people. Power should only be exercised when needed and under intense scrutiny. This is to prevent tyranny and government overreach. This is in contrast to the seemingly unrestricted powers of certain monarchs during the same time period.

Separation of Powers

arbenatorpersonal — 2025-06-29 22:12:49 UTC

This concept is strongly influences by John Locke's idea of limited government. It states that to prevent power from being congregated too strongly in the hands of one person or group, powers should be separated into different government branches. This government branches are to act separately and check each other, in the process preventing dictatorship. This is already in place in the United States with our three branches. The executive, legislative, and judicial branch all work to check each other in the United States.

Right of Revolution

arbenatorpersonal — 2025-06-29 22:12:54 UTC

The right of revolution is a concept conceived by John Locke in relation to the social contract. It derives from the idea that the government exists only with the consent of the people. If the people don't consent due to the government not upholding the people's rights, what should the people do? John Locke believes that they are allowed to violently overthrow the government in protection of their own rights. This was certainly an extreme idea for the time.