Thalassa Editions

Two Treatises of Government

John Locke

Liberalism · Intermediate

A central liberal text, powerful in constitutional history and troubling where rights language meets colonial property claims.

John Locke · first circulated 1689

Main ideas

Political power limited by natural rights and consent.
Property explained through labour, scarcity and provisos.
Revolution justified when government betrays trust.

Important themes

RightsPropertyConsent

Reading context

Published in 1689 but written earlier, during the crisis over the succession. The first treatise demolishes the divine right of kings; the second builds government on consent and on a right of revolution when trust is broken.

How to approach it

Read the second treatise. Chapters 2, 5, 8 and 19 carry the argument. His account of property acquired by labour is the most influential and the most contested part.