III.

Political Theories

Locke’s views, in his Two Treatises of Government (1690), attacked the theory of divine right of kings and the nature of the state as conceived by English philosopher and political theorist Thomas Hobbes. In brief, Locke argued that sovereignty did not reside in the state but with the people, and that the state is supreme, but only if it is bound by civil and what he called “natural” law. Many of Locke’s political ideas, such as those relating to natural rights, property rights, the duty of the government to protect these rights, and the rule of the majority, were later embodied in the Constitution of the United States.

Locke further held that revolution was not only a right but often an obligation, and he advocated a system of checks and balances in government. He also believed in freedom of religion and in the separation of church and state. See also Political Theory and Thematic Essay: British Political and Social Thought.

Locke’s influence in modern philosophy has been profound and, with his application of empirical analysis to ethics, politics, and religion, he remains one of the most important and controversial philosophers of all time. Among his other works are Some Thoughts Concerning Education (1693) and The Reasonableness of Christianity (1695).