Unlock document.
This document is partially blurred.
Unlock all pages and 1 million more documents.
Get Access
Every man is equal in rights –oh yeah, except Americans
The time was 1689 the voices of the Enlightenment championed science
and reason all across Europe. John Locke is considered one of the founding
fathers of modern civilization. Among his many contributions, his essay “The
second Treatise of Government” has been acclaimed for a long time as a pioneer
in the history of political liberalism --some even call it the most important political
analysis ever written. In his work, Locke defines the principle of individual natural
rights and how they need to be ruled by a limited government. He also suggests
the separation of powers in government and, most emphatically, the right of
individuals within a society to depose of rulers who do not fulfill their part of the
contract social. Locke is most famous for his state of nature theory in which all
humans possess the same rights. Despite the familiarity and world acceptance of
Locke’s Second Treatise, his arguments have aroused controversy among many
scholars. One of the major discrepancies in his work revolves around the concept
of the disproportionate and unequal possession of the earth. Although Locke’s
state of nature describes a utopic world where everyone is considered equal in
rights, his philosophy seeks to justify the rise and development of English
imperialism and it´s dominant spread around the world. Particularly, his philosophy
stimulates the oppression of the British Bourgeoisie over the colonies they owned
in America. We evidence the classic case of an ideal leading the strong to oppress
the weak
Before we discuss the topic at hand, a little contextualization is necessary.
One of the most important objectives during Locke´s work was to find "another
source of political power”, in other words, he tries to describe politics by deriving it
from a state of “naturality” in which men are predestined. This concept of
“naturality” describes a state of equality, in which no one has more power and
authority than anyone else. In this state every person is absolutely free to dispose
of himself or his possessions, but isn’t at liberty to destroy himself or invade any
other creature’s belongings and rights. Men as rational beings, in this condition,
enjoyed natural rights such as peace, goodwill, cooperation and preservation.
Individuals, in that condition, were free and enjoyed the fruits of their labor;
however, they lacked an authority that could guarantee those rights. Lo and
behold, the figure of government appeared.
In the state of nature, all men have the ability to punish lawbreakers in
