This study will discuss and analyze the political theory of John Locke, focusing on how he attempted to strike a balance between a government that would avoid the problems of the state of nature and yet would infringe only minimally upon people's natural liberties. Locke was only partially successful in striking this balance because of his emphasis on the centrality of private property. Locke did not simply mean material property in this regard, but life itself. However, practically speaking, Locke's writings clearly mean to set up a government which will protect the material possessions of individuals. Certainly his relatively democratic ideal government gives the people greater protection and security for their lives and property than they had in the state of nature, but the powers and rights they retain under the civil government are inevitably concentrated in the hands of those with property, or with the most property. The right to own property is the right most cherished by Locke: "The great and chief end . . . of men uniting into commonwealths, and putting themselves under government, is the preservation of their property; to which in the state of nature there are many things wanting" (Locke 70). Therefore, the government and the power of the people to shape and change that government are determined most by that property-owning group whose possessions Locke was most concerned with protecting.
To Locke, individuals in a society willingly surrender some of their natural liberties to the government, in exchange for both freedom from the war of nature and protection of their property. Locke's ideas emphasize: (1) the importance of the consent of the people to their government and the right of the people to change the government when, in extreme circumstances, they conclude it is not carrying out their will or fulfilling its promise to protect them and their property; (2) the right of the people to private property, a right wi...