John Locke's Representive Government

Decent Essays
In the 1600’s, many English philosophers questioned whether or not people needed a government. The founders of the united states used their theories to build the new country. The united States needs a representive government to protect its citizens natural rights from being harmed.

English political philosopher John locke created the natural rights philosophy. This is where he imagined what the world would be like if there was no legitimate government, which he called a state or nature. “The state of nature has a law of nautre to govern it which obliges every one….No one ought to harm anoother in his life, health, liberty, or possecisons…” (John Locke, 1689) Locke also discovered in a state of nature, humans have three natural rights. They have the right to live, the right to liberty, and the right to property. Locke also discovered that its human nature that not everyone is good at heart. This is when he knew that we need a government to protect peoples natural rights. In order to have a controling power, the people need to give either implict or explict consent to that government to make it become a legitimate government, The founding fathers used John Lockes philosophys on natural rights and government to help decide what would be the best way to govern the newly indeoendent United states. They also looked at other governments used
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For example, the rounding fathers looked at the roman emipre and there government system. It was a classical repulic government. In classical republicsim, the government a people focus on the common good. They have all citizens preform civic virtue and put the community before themselves. They also have strict moral education. Citizens in a classical republic live in small commuinites called factions to prevent differences. They also have a established religion. Other governments include governments with a constituion. They give al power to one

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