If We Lose John Locke, We Lose America | 5 Minute Video

when John Adams and Benjamin Franklin read Thomas Jefferson's draft of the Declaration of Independence they undoubtedly recognized two things Jefferson's peerless prose and the political wisdom of the 17th century English thinker John Locke we still admire Jefferson's skill as a writer but we have lost an appreciation for Jefferson's philosophical mentor John Locke was born in 1632 in a small village in Somerset England he studied at Oxford to be a physician but achieved fame as a political theorist in 1690 he authored one of the most famous political tracts in history two treatises of government England had just gone through a period of great political turmoil the so-called Glorious Revolution of 1688 in which the catholic king james ii was overthrown and replaced by a protestant one William of Orange the purpose of that revolution which Locke supported was not merely to substitute one king for another but to move power away from the monarch and place it in the hands of the people and their elected representatives the laws and liberties of this kingdom in Locke's view belonged to its citizens this was of course how the American rebels saw their relationship with England the Americans had no say in laws that the English crown in Parliament were forcing on them and to put it mildly they didn't like it no taxation without representation was a classic expression of their displeasure but how to frame the argument so that the whole world would understand it Jefferson looked to Locke for inspiration and guidance and using Locke helped in another way how better Jefferson calculated to justify an American Revolution than to use the arguments that were once used to justify an English one so what were those arguments Locke posited three first all men are created equal second certain basic rights exist independent of government third government exists to protect those rights let's take them in turn number one all men are created equal Locke starts this argument at a very basic level namely that human beings were created equal by God we're all part of the same species we're all capable of doing human things in that sense we are equal not in qualities or outcome but in Rights as John Locke wrote creatures of the same species born to all the same advantages of nature and the use of the same faculties should also be equal without subordination or subjection in this way a king is in no way superior to a commoner such that he might violate the commoners right the king is a human being the commoner is a human being each can reason therefore one is equal to the other we take this for granted now but in 1690 it was a radical motion number two certain basic rights exist independent of government Locke believed that it was man's natural state to be free therefore freedom creates his government that his freedom came first government came later one hears this thinking expressed in Jefferson's famous phrase we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights here is how Locke put it the natural state of man is to be free from any superior power on earth and not to be under the will or legislative authority of a government as rational human beings Locke contended we have the Liberty whether king or commoner to think and act as we wish so long as we harm no one else number three government exists to protect those rights for Locke the purpose of government was to protect the individuals freedom and to protect the property the land and material goods he lawfully acquired the last thing Locke wanted was to give the government the power to take away that liberty or undermine those property rights if government couldn't provide those protections or if it abused its power it didn't deserve to exist the end of law he wrote is not to abolish or restrain freedom but to preserve and enlarge freedom boiled down into a revolutionary slogan we might summarize Locke's three-pronged philosophy this way don't tread on me can't get much more American than that but today Locke's ideas are under full-fledged assault there are many Americans who believe that human beings are not created equal that we should treat people differently based on their group identity there are many Americans who believe that rights do not pre exist government that government is both our master and protector granting and withdrawing privileges as it sees fit and there are many Americans who believe that government should have almost unlimited power everything that Locke rejected these Americans rush to embrace their preference for paternalistic government is not what Locke envisioned or what Jefferson describes in the Declaration of Independence we need to reintroduce John Locke and his ideas to a nation that has become increasingly blind two fundamental elements of its own history and character because if we lose Locke we lose America I'm Ben Shapiro for Prager University this 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