What concept was jhon Locke responsible for?

Answer 1

The central concept of john Locke's political philosophy is that there is a natural law that creates a set of rights and duties that apply to all people, regardless of whatever man-made laws or religious codes may be imposed. Locke's perception of basic natural rights included the rights to life, liberty and property, and conversely, the basic natural duties were the duties not to kill, enslave, or steal - in other words, not to take away anyone else's natural rights.

As a natural extension of this basic concept, Locke believed that men had given up a certain portion of their rights to create governments to provide for protection of their basic rights and enable them to lead a more secure existence, so that governments owed their existence to the people. If a government failed in its duties to the people, then the people were entitled to overthrow the government.

This was directly contrary to the prevailing theory that God had expressly created certain people as monarchs and the rest of the people to be his subjects, so that to oppose one's monarch was to oppose God's will.

To understand Locke's influence on the American Revolution, read the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, which famously states, "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, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,"