John Locke
John Locke (1632 -1704), an English philosopher, stated that civil insurrection is a wholly justifiable solution to a troubled society. His basic premise held that the actual horror, the suffering and pain endured by a people improperly ruled would be even worse than that suffered without or during the revolution. He held that revolution is an idea, not a war; a correction of matters and it is not the people who are revolting, but rather those in power.John Locke argues that there are two ways in which a revolution can be justified. First, when a government creates law, it is expected that the laws benefit the society it is charged with governing. If these laws cease to be beneficial, revolution is in order. Second, behaviors that violate the trust a society places in its government are also grounds for a revolution. Corrupt officials are an example of this. declaration of war when it betrays its own people. Laws made by the people and for the people are not meant to be broken by those who hold the power to enforce them. happen right away. A society would continually have to be abused in order to be motivated to attack a Capitol Building and start by finishing off a Senator. Lock may be shocked to learn that the
re are those, however, who have wandered down to the nearest post office with a semi-automatic gun and have done just that. Locke perhaps never dreamed that people like Timothy McVeigh would actually exist, but a full-blown revolution is what Locke based his argument on. His thoughts were geared toward an actual outbreak of an entire people - which is much harder to put together than a Ryder Truck full of fertilizer. John Locke brings about strong arguments which justify a revolution. If a government is put in to place by the people and for the people, than the job of the government is to do just that - work for the people in protecting their lives, and their liberties. When a government continually fails to do so, the response of the people is to do away with what is not doing as it should. If the only way a people can get a government to listen is by bloodshed, then so be it. Although Locke firmly testifies that the abuse would have to be recurring for such an uprising to take place, history has shown that revolutions do occur, and people are capable of revolt. It takes a whole society to create and execute a revolution and the process is a slow one. It is this voice that was given to the people and has been used by the people to keep freedom theirs. Locke's second re
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Approximate Word count = 869
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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