6 h 18 minAudiobook6 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 155 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 155 pagesAbout this book
Why should anyone obey a government—and when does that government lose its right to rule?
In Second Treatise of Government, John Locke challenges the claim that kings rule by divine right. He begins with people living without government and asks why they would agree to create one. His answer places liberty, equality, property, and consent at the heart of political power.
For Locke, authority is a trust, not an inheritance. Rulers must protect the people they govern, and even the power to make laws has limits. As his argument moves from natural rights to civil society, a sharper question emerges: what may citizens do when those entrusted with power become tyrants?
What you’ll discover
- Liberty before government Explore the state of nature, where Locke begins his case for human freedom and equality.
- The puzzle of property Follow his argument about labor, ownership, and the limits that money changes.
- Consent as a foundation Consider why free people accept government, and what makes its authority legitimate.
- Law with firm limits Examine why even the highest lawmaking power cannot rightfully act without restraint.
- When trust breaks Confront Locke’s argument that people may resist rulers who abuse their power.
Who will love it
For students of politics, law and history, and any citizen who wants to know why governments need consent and where their limits lie. For readers who enjoy exploring liberty, equality, property and the right to resist.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Political power is a limited trust
- People are born equal and at liberty
- Everyone may enforce the law of nature
- Labor gives people a right to property
- Property has limits that money changes
- Government begins with consent
- The legislature rules but has limits
- Rulers who abuse power become tyrants
- The people may resist and judge
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Second Treatise of Government
by John Locke · 1689
Locke asks why anyone should obey a government, tracing political power to consent and the protection of liberty.
Challenging5–10 hours to readEnglish
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In short
Why should anyone obey a government, and when may they stop? John Locke asks this plain question in the Second Treatise of Government, published without his name in 1689, just after the Glorious Revolution drove King James the Second from the throne.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Political power is a limited trust
Locke defines political power as the right to make laws, with penalties up to death, for regulating and preserving property. It also covers using the community's force to carry out those laws and to defend the country. All of it must aim at the public good.
He sets aside Sir Robert Filmer, who argued that kings inherit absolute power from Adam. A father's authority over a child, Locke notes, is not a ruler's authority over adults.
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Details
- First published
- 1689
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 4 h 5 min
- Level
- Challenging
- Paperback
- 155 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Hardcover
- 155 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Large print paperback
- 233 pages · 8.5 × 11 in
- Large print hardcover
- 233 pages · 8.5 × 11 in
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What is the Second Treatise of Government about?
It explains where political power comes from and what limits it. Locke argues that people are born equal and at liberty, form governments by consent to protect their property, and may resist rulers who betray that trust.
What did Locke mean by the state of nature?
It describes people before any government. Locke says it is not lawless. Reason gives a law of nature that forbids harming others, but it lacks settled laws, impartial judges and enforcement.
When was the Second Treatise written and published?
Locke wrote it in the politically tense years before the Glorious Revolution of 1688. It appeared anonymously in 1689, with 1690 on the title page, as the second half of Two Treatises of Government.
The author
John Locke
1632–1704 · English philosopher
John Locke was an English philosopher and physician, born in Wrington, England, in 1632. He lived in England and, from 1683 to 1689, in the Netherlands. His works included Two Treatises of Government, published in 1689, and An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, published in 1689. He died at Oates, Essex, in 1704.
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