You’ve probably heard the phrase "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" a thousand times. It's the ultimate American tagline. But Thomas Jefferson wasn't just pulling those ideas out of thin air while sitting in a humid room in Philadelphia. He was basically cribbing the homework of a 17th-century English philosopher who was, at the time, risking his neck to challenge the "divine right" of kings. That philosopher was John Locke, and his magnum opus, Two Treatises of Government by John Locke, is the reason you don't have to bow to a monarch today.
It’s weird to think about now, but for most of human history, the idea that you "owned" yourself was radical. Dangerous, even. Locke’s work wasn't just a dry academic text; it was a political bombshell. Published anonymously in 1689—though written years earlier—it provided the intellectual scaffolding for the Glorious Revolution in England and, eventually, the American and French Revolutions.
If you’ve ever wondered why we have a right to kick out a corrupt government or why property rights are such a massive deal in the West, the answers are buried in these two distinct essays.
The First Treatise: Debunking the "King is God" Myth
The first half of the book is honestly a bit of a slog for modern readers because it's a "diss track" against a guy named Robert Filmer. Filmer had written a book called Patriarcha, where he argued that kings were the direct descendants of Adam and therefore had absolute power over everyone else. He basically said God made kings the "fathers" of their nations, and you don't get to vote for your dad.
Locke wasn't having it.
He spent the entire First Treatise meticulously tearing Filmer’s logic apart. He pointed out that even if Adam had been given absolute power (which Locke doubted), nobody could actually prove who the rightful heir was after thousands of years. It’s a bit like someone claiming they should run the world because they’re the 500th cousin of a mythical king. Locke used the Bible against the monarchists, arguing that all men are naturally born free.
The Second Treatise: The Real Meat of the Argument
The Second Treatise is where things get interesting. This is where Locke builds his own vision of how society should work. He starts with a "State of Nature." Imagine a world with no police, no courts, and no government. Just people.
In this state, Locke argues we aren't necessarily at each other's throats (unlike his contemporary Thomas Hobbes, who thought life without a king was "nasty, brutish, and short"). Instead, Locke believed humans are guided by a Law of Nature. We have reason. We know that because we are all equal, nobody has the right to harm another's life, health, liberty, or possessions.
The Problem of Property
How do you "own" something in a world where everything is shared? Locke’s answer is simple: Labor.
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When you pick an apple from a tree, that apple becomes yours because you put in the effort to harvest it. You mixed your labor with the natural world. This "labor theory of property" is the bedrock of modern capitalism. However, Locke added a catch: the "Lockean Proviso." You can only take as much as you can use before it spoils, and you must leave "enough and as good" for everyone else.
He didn't want people hoarding resources while others starved. It’s a nuance that gets lost in modern political debates. Locke was a fan of ownership, but he wasn't a fan of greed that crippled the community.
Why We Give Up Our Freedom
If the state of nature is so great, why do we bother with governments at all? Because humans are biased.
If someone steals your cow, and you’re the judge, jury, and executioner, you’re probably going to be a bit too harsh. If the thief is your brother, you might be too lenient. We create a "Social Contract" to get an impartial judge. We give up a tiny bit of our freedom—specifically the right to punish others ourselves—in exchange for the protection of our natural rights.
This is the core of Two Treatises of Government by John Locke. The government isn't our master; it’s our employee. It has one job: protect our life, liberty, and property. If it fails to do that, or if it starts taking those things away, the contract is null and void.
The Right to Revolution
This was the part that made Locke a radical. He argued that if a government becomes tyrannical, the people have a duty to rebel.
He didn't mean you should riot because you don't like a new tax on tea (though the Americans certainly took it that way). He meant that when a ruler stops following the law and starts ruling by whim, they have effectively declared war on the people. At that point, the people are back in the "state of nature" and have every right to defend themselves.
Locke was careful here. He knew that people are generally lazy and would rather put up with a crappy government than start a bloody war. He argued that revolution is a last resort, but it is a legitimate one. This idea flipped the world upside down. It took power away from the throne and put it into the hands of the "governed."
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Real-World Impact: From 1689 to 2026
You can see Locke’s fingerprints everywhere.
- The US Constitution: The Separation of Powers (which Locke touched on and Montesquieu later refined) is straight out of the Whig playbook Locke helped write.
- Human Rights: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is essentially a globalized version of Locke’s "Natural Rights."
- The Economy: Every time you sign a contract or buy a piece of land, you’re operating in a system defined by Lockean property rights.
But it’s not all perfect. Critics often point out that Locke’s ideas about property were used to justify colonialism. If Native Americans weren't "improving" the land with European-style fences and farms, the colonists argued, then they didn't really "own" it. It’s a dark side of the philosophy that experts like Barbara Arneil have explored in depth. Locke himself was involved in the administration of the Carolinas, and his record on slavery is, frankly, hypocritical and messy. He argued against "political slavery" for Englishmen while being involved in the actual slave trade through the Royal African Company.
How to Apply Lockean Logic Today
Understanding Two Treatises of Government by John Locke isn't just for history buffs. It's a lens to view our current world.
Think about digital privacy. If you "mix your labor" with data to create something online, do you own that data? Most tech companies say no; they do. A Lockean would argue that your digital output is an extension of your personhood.
What about eminent domain? When the government takes your land for a highway, are they fulfilling the social contract or breaking it? Locke would say it depends on whether you gave "consent" through your representatives and if the compensation is fair.
Actionable Insights for the Modern Citizen
If you want to live like a true Lockean in the 21st century, start with these steps:
- Audit Your Consent: Pay attention to how your local and national governments use your tax dollars. Locke believed consent was "tacit"—by living in a country and using its roads, you're agreeing to the rules. If you don't like the rules, your primary tool is the ballot box (or, in extreme cases, protest).
- Defend Your Property (and Others'): This doesn't just mean putting up a fence. It means advocating for laws that protect individual ownership against both corporate overreach and government overstep.
- Question Authority: Never accept "because I said so" from a political leader. In the Lockean view, every law must be grounded in the "public good." If a law only benefits the people in power, it’s not a legitimate law.
- Read the Original: Don't take my word for it. Pick up a copy of the Second Treatise. It’s surprisingly readable for a book written over 300 years ago. Focus on Chapters 2 (The State of Nature), 5 (Of Property), and 19 (Of the Dissolution of Government).
John Locke didn't give us a perfect blueprint, but he gave us the tools to build a society where we aren't just subjects. We're stakeholders.