What legitimizes political power? When is it permissible for a people to rebel against established authority? Written against the backdrop of the turbulent English revolutions of the 17th century, John Locke's Second Treatise of Government is not merely a cornerstone of modern liberal thought, but a seminal work that inspired declarations and constitutions across the world, beginning with that of the United States of America.
Within these pages, Locke dismantles the idea of the divine right of kings and constructs a radically new political theory based on the concepts of the state of nature, natural rights (to life, liberty, and property), and the social contract. Government, for Locke, is not an absolute and unquestionable entity, but a trustee of society, instituted by the consent of the governed for the sole purpose of protecting those fundamental rights. When a government betrays this trust and degenerates into tyranny, the people retain the right—and duty—to resist.
A classic of political philosophy that, in its lucid reasoning, continues to raise crucial questions about liberty, the limits of power, and the duties of citizens, proving its enduring relevance in every age of transition and redefinition of the balance between state and individual.
