Question

With which statement woud enlightenment thinker john locke have agreed? A. People have the right to overthrow a government that violates their rights B. Monarchy is necessary because people are naturally cruel and selfish C. The glorious revolution violated the rights of the english people D. An enlightened absolute monarchy is the best way to ensure an orderly society

Answer 1

The correct answer is A. People have the right to overthrow a government that violates their rights .

John Locke developed the concept of natural law and stated in his book "Two treatises of government", that under natural law, all people have the right to life, liberty and heritage and contributed to the concept of Social Contract addressed by several enlightened thinkers, that under the "Social Contract" people could instigate a revolution against the government when it acted against the interests of the citizens, to replace the government with one that served the interests of the citizens. Locke considered that the citizen has the right to the revolution and that in certain circumstances, he has the obligation to exercise it to safeguard the people against tyranny.

While Locke believed it correct that the government was represented by a constitutional monarchy, ie a monarch supported by a parliament, he was against all absolute monarchy and conceptually did not give the monarch the place to care for a people without sanity but rather gave the State the priority of protecting the citizen against injustice. He said that injustices are what alter the natural state of tolerance and good judgment of citizens sometimes leading him to act with justice by their own hand and it is the State that must guarantee the right to life, property and freedom, to maintain the social order and give rise to the prosperity and happiness of individuals.

Locke was the son of Puritan Protestants and at the time of the Glorious Revolution he was living in the Netherlands and certainly supported this revolution.