"Two Treaties of Government"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses John Locke's 1689 masterpiece, "Two Treaties of Government." It focuses on Locke's theory of justified rebellion and examines his political standpoint on maintaining a civil government. The paper discusses a revolt for the safety of liberties, health and possessions and suggests that these paramount entities of life are a means to preserve the public good.

From the Paper:

"Since the legislature is not continually in session, occasions will sometimes arise for which the standing laws have made no direct provision to adjust the benefit of the commonwealth. It is in these instances where the executive power of the "prerogative" is used to immediately amend the situation at hand, relying upon its own counsel in the absence of legislative direction: "This power to act according to discretion for the public good, without the prescription of the law and sometimes even against it, is that which is called prerogative."(ST: no. 160) Locke truly believed that it was through the potential misuse of this "prerogative" that the stability and order of a commonwealth was threatened."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Pfeffer, Jacqueline L.. "The Family in John Locke's Political Thought." Polity Vol. 33 (2001): 593-618.
• Kraynak, Robert P. "John Locke: From Absolutism to Toleration." o The American Political Science Review Vol. 74 (1980): 53-69.
• Locke, John. Two Treaties on Civil Government. London: Ballantyne Press, 1884.

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