John+Locke

= __John Locke__ =

__** Biography **__ ====John Locke was a British philosopher who was born on August 29, 1632. He is best known for his [|theory of the state], his empirical theory of knowledge, his support of religious tolerance, and his [|theory of personal identity]. He grew up in [|Pensford], a small market town, just a few miles south of Bristol. When he was 15 he attended Westminster School in London and completing his studies there was admitted to [|Christ Church, Oxford]. He became interested in medicine and experimental philosophy and graduated college in 1656 and received his Master's degree in 1658 (he received his Bachelor's degree of medicine in 1674). In 1667 he served as [|Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury's] personal physician after he impressed him at Oxford, Locke would later be credited for saving his life by persuading him to get and operation for his live infection. Shaftesbury had a lot of influence of his political views of Life, Liberty, and Property, which would later be adopted by the Founding Fathers of the United States and used in the constitution. While he worked for Shaftesburt he satred writting his //[|Two Treatises of Government],// which would be published in 1689. Locke fled to the Netherlands in 1683 after being accused of taking part in a plot to assassinate King Charles II (although no real evidence is present that he had anything to do with this), where he finished writing his essay. He died on October 28, 1704, after never marrying or having children. ====

__** Philosophical Views **__

Many of John Locke's ideas on philosophy were based on the idea that everyone deserves what he or she works for. He also believed that the government should not intervene in the economic interests of the people. Several of his works show this economic mentality, most notable being his //[|Two Treatises of Government] //, in which he argues for individual [|property rights], along with several other notable views. In the Treatises, he argues that the government was created to protect the private right of the people to own property. Like in other works, Locke claims that a man deserves what he has worked for, and that each person has at least one piece of property, that being himself. He uses this to argue that that person thus owns what he has worked for. A lot of his ideals, especially on economic issues, show his distaste of government intervention in the affairs of its citizens. Another important belief of Locke was that the limit to a person's property was their ability to produce. ==== To Locke, the only legitimate role of the government was to steadfastly defend the economic interests for its private citizen. Many of these would lead to some of the values that would eventually form what will become capitalism. Because of this, he was against taxes, or other form of forced payment to the government, as such things hu rt economic interests rather then defend it.He was a supporter of a [|social contract] - the idea that those who are controlled by a government (or other authority) are entered in a contract with that entity ensuring that their wish is held. ==== ==== A common misinterpretation is that Locke was the founder of Capitalism. His ideas on economic rights and the government led to some of the ideas of capitalism, but he believed that his ideas could be implemented in many forms of government, including true monarchies. This belief was challenged when he wrote an article that argued that revolution and [|regicide] can be justified, after he was accused of regicide himself. Like many of his arguments, he claims that revolution is justified when that government is taking away the citizen's right to property, liberty and their life, so taking forcible control of a unjust government is permissible. Another view that would help define him was his ideas on freedom of religion, in which he was adamant. Locke supported the freedom of religion, and thus was in support of such rights, views on justice and desert that would come from this freedom. ==== ==== Furthermore, he was an early s upporter of separation of powers, which would allow the people a multitude of option in the sole goal of governance- to protect the citizen's interest. His views on price theory, especially in regards to supply and demand, give the impression that he saw every man as equal in that in the beginning, they had started on an equal footing, but through their ingenuity and hard work had moved away from each other economically, so economic differences were due to the lack of work of one's ability and drive to succeed economically, or one's ancestors. ====

**Government**
===** -The government should not intervene in the economic interests of the people. ** === ===** -Role of the government was to steadfastly defend the economic interests for its private citizen. ** ===

**Taxes**
===** -He was against taxes, or other form of forced payment to the government, as such things hurt economic interests rather then defend it. ** ===

** -Supported freedom of religion **
===** -Every man is equal in that in the beginning, but through their ingenuity and hard work they move away from each other economically, so economic differences were due to the lack of work of one's ability and drive to succeed economically, or one's ancestors. ** === ===<span style="font-size: 1.1em; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">** -Revolution is justified when that government is taking away the citizen's right to property, liberty and their life. ** ===

__ **Significance** __ ====<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 26px;">John Locke's views on justice, desert, and religious tolerance are strong views that are still significant today. He believed that God gave us certain "unalienable rights" that we should defend, "life, liberty, and possession" which are still valid today as seen in our Declaration of Independence. We can’t give up these rights, or take them away from other people; God gave them to us. We rely on our government a lot more than we think. We have fresh water in part because of the government, we have nice roads, we have the metro, and we have safety, all of these are examples of the government being present in our daily lives, but not being there “too much.” He believed that the government should help people solve their problems through society; the idea that the government is not interfering too much, but is still there is, is a good one in our opinion. John Locke did not want the government to have too much power because you then lose your ability to monitor your own three rights. His support for the idea of separation of powers, or being divided into branches relieving one person of total control can be seen in our constitution, in which the governmental powers are distinctively split between multiple branches, the executive, legislative, and judicial. John Locke had a profound impact on two of our most important political documents, and our life and society might be very different if he had not published his ideas. Today almost everyone has a job of some sort; they work hard and earn what they need to live. Most people, including us, would argue that these people deserve what they work for, and so does Locke. A big idea of his was property is derived through labor. It is important for people to work for what they possess, otherwise nobody would work and our society wouldn't work either. Locke argues that religious tolerance seems necessary because you can’t make people believe things through force, so what’s the point of creating turmoil when allowing diversity would lead to less? Many wars have and will occur because people can’t accept other people’s right to their beliefs. If everyone just follows Locke’s example then there would be more peace, which would undoubtedly be a good thing. John Locke disagreed with Karl Marx who did not see all of the “goods” of government. Karl Marx critiqued Locke’s theory of property, and perfected it. Because Marx saw Locke's theories as being unfair to the worker, and favoring the rich, this would become one of the reasons leading up to the Marxist movement. The Marxist movement fought for the freedom of the working class people. It stood for the capitalist society. The capitalist society occurs when productions are privately owned and the profit is all one person's. ==== ====<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 26px;">For example, if I own a little coffee shop, all the money I make belongs to me because it is a private store and I worked for the money. John Locke and Karl Marx would also disagreed when it comes to dessert. Locke believes that you deserve what you work for, whereas Marx believes that everyone should work for what they need and contribute what they can. John Locke’s beliefs play a significant role in our everyday life, we rely on the idea of democracy, we have religious freedom, and our whole economy is based on the same principles as John Locke. This can be seen, for example, in the fact that John Locke believed in a social contract in which the people that are controlled by the government are entered into a contract that ensures that their wish is held. This can be seen in the U.S. with the Constitution. Also, Locke believed that one's limit to a person's property was their ability to produce. This can be seen now, in our society through the fact that there are large differences of peoples' wealth. Some are far wealthier than others, while others are far poorer. As you can see, John Locke's views have had an effect on everyday life in certain aspects. ====

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"Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury." //Spartacus Educational - Home Page//. Web. 02 Dec. 2010. <http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/STUshafesburyE.htm>. "Capitalism." //Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia.// 6 Dec. 2010. Web. 6 Dec. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism>. ====== "Christ Church, Oxford." //Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia//. 30 Nov. 2010. Web. 02 Dec. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_Church,_Oxford>. D'Agostina, Fred and Gerald Gaus. "Contemporary Approaches to the Social Contract." //Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.// 5 Sept. 2008. Web. 5 Dec. 2010. <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/contractarianism-contemporary/>

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"John Locke - Philosopher - Biography." //The European Graduate School - Graduate & Postgraduate Studies Progam - Saas Fee, Switzerland//. Web. 02 Dec. 2010. <http://www.egs.edu/library/john-locke/biography/>. ======

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"Pensford." //Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia//. 30 Sept. 2010. Web. 02 Dec. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pensford>. "Tax." //Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia.// 6 Dec. 2010. Web. 6 Dec. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax>. ======

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"Two Treatises of Government." //Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia//. 21 Nov. 2010. Web. 02 Dec. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Treatises_of_Government>. Uzgalis, William. "John Locke." //Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.// 5 May 2007. Web. 5 Dec. 2010. <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/locke/#SocConThe> ======

By: Chase Ammon <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: nowrap;">Lombeh Kabia <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;">David Lukaczer <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: normal;">Delmar Terrago