Essay On John Locke's Formation Of Government

John Locke wrote his Second Treatise of Government to create a picture of a proper democratic society which he wanted for his beloved homeland of England. Lockean ideals and principles are still being taught today and used in most democratic societies. Locke is still influencing modern day politics with his enlightened view on the powers of the Legislative to tax its constituents and the Executive branch superseding the Legislative powers in government. According to Locke a government has the right to assemble an army and protect the people’s safety. Yet, the government, in particular the general, of an army can overstep its bounds when they put their hands into their soldier’s pockets “The reason for the difference is clear. The commander …show more content…
Therefore, Locke made it explicitly clear the role of the executive “he(the executive) is to be considered as the image or representative of the commonwealth, empowered by the will of the society as declared in its laws; and thus he has no will, no power, other than that of the law.” The executive is not a law maker, but a follower of the law and chief executor of the law. Locke wanted this distinction, because the powers to create laws and execute them in the hands of one individual is the ingredients for a dictatorship. In the current political atmosphere of the U.S.A. there is much concern over the usage of Presidential Executive Orders which is a way for the President to give directives which effectually become law. This is a direct overreach of executive powers which started to become prevalent with the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt and still plagues the U.S.A. today. Former U.S. President Barack Obama was notorious for using Executive Orders to bypass congressional legislative approval for federal directives. Such as, his use of an Executive Order to implement the “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” or better known as