The Second Treatise On Civil Government And State Of Nature

Throughout 17th century England, religion had a huge impact on the way the government was ruled. In turn, this has caused many problems amongst different sects, most notably in the lead up to the publication of John Locke’s The Second Treatise on Civil Government and A Letter Concerning Toleration. It would appear that the official religion of Britain would change with the hands of the monarch at the time, particularly during the period known as the ‘Wars of the Three Kingdoms’ and later the ‘Glorious Revolution.’ With this in mind, Locke identified the problem of allowing magistrates to enforce religious beliefs on the Commonwealth and so separated the Church and State. This separation is largely due to his ideas written out in Social Contract, which places a substantial limit on the government’s role in religion. In order to discuss the eventual separation of Church and State, one must first understand the importance of Locke’s Social Contract in relation to the magistrate’s power. Unlike Thomas Hobbes’ view on the State of Nature, Locke’s works make an attempt to eliminate absolute rule and consequently proposes that the State of Nature is positive. In Locke’s eyes, the State of Nature was not something human beings want to get out of, but rather are forced to with the introduction of private property and money. Nevertheless, this innate desire to want to improve common stock comes from God given rationality thus making human beings fundamentally rational. It is underShow MoreRelatedJohn Locke: Founding Father of Modern Era Liberalism1444 Words   |  6 Pagesidentify which thinker’s theory reflected modern era liberalism the most. For this paper I will be arguing that, John Locke provides a more compelling framework of modern era liberalism because of his perception of the state of nature, the social contract and the function of government. 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