John Locke (29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an influential English philosopher and social contract theorist. He developed an alternative to the Hobbesian state of nature and asserted a government could be good only if it received the consent of the governed and protected the natural rights of life, liberty, and estate. If such a consent was not achieved, Locke argued in favour of a right of rebellion, which he referred to as an "appeal to heaven
The major similarity between these two documents is that both reflect the idea that there should be limitations on the power of the government. This is an important idea that is one of the major bases of our entire system of government today. The major difference between the two is the degree of democracy that they contemplate. The Magna Carta is really meant as a contract between the king and his nobles, giving the nobles guarantees against the king. By contrast, the Declaration of Independence is a call for equality and rights for all people (or at least all white men). This means the Declaration is far more democratic than the Magna Carta.
