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Single Idea 19911

[filed under theme 24. Political Theory / C. Ruling a State / 4. Changing the State / c. Revolution ]

Full Idea

Whenever the legislators endeavour to take away and destroy the property of the people, or reduce them to slavery under arbitrary power, they put themselves into a state of war with the people, who are thereupon absolved from any further obedience.

Gist of Idea

If legislators confiscate property, or enslave people, they are no longer owed obedience

Source

John Locke (Second Treatise of Government [1690], 222)

Book Ref

Locke,John: 'Two Treatises of Government' [Everyman 1988], p.229

A Reaction

This might fit Louis XVI in 1788. Locke was certainly not averse to consideration the situations in which revolution might be justified. He was trying to be even-handed about 1642. Locke seems to think that without property you ARE a slave.

Related Idea

Idea 19905 People stripped of their property are legitimately subject to despotism [Locke]

The 18 ideas with the same theme [overthrow of the government by citizens]:

19931 Every state is more frightened of its own citizens than of external enemies [Spinoza]
19902 Any obstruction to the operation of the legislature can be removed forcibly by the people [Locke]
19908 Rebelling against an illegitimate power is no sin [Locke]
19911 If legislators confiscate property, or enslave people, they are no longer owed obedience [Locke]
19747 Revolutionaries usually confuse liberty with total freedom, and end up with heavier chains [Rousseau]
19837 If inhabitants are widely dispersed, organising a revolt is much more difficult [Rousseau]
19843 The state is not bound to leave civil authority to its leaders [Rousseau]
21756 All revolutions result from spirit changing its categories, to achieve a deeper understanding [Hegel]
22971 In moving from capitalism to communism a revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat is needed [Marx]
21991 The middle class gain freedom through property, but workers can only free all of humanity [Marx, by Singer]
21990 Theory is as much a part of a revolution as material force is [Marx]
20273 The French Revolution gave trusting Europe the false delusion of instant recovery [Nietzsche]
23867 After a bloody revolution the group which already had the power comes to the fore [Weil]
23856 Spontaneous movements are powerless against organised repression [Weil]
21997 In Marxism the state will be superseded [Singer]
20288 You can't condemn violent revolution without assessing the evils it prevents [Singer]
22258 Passion for progress is always short-lived [Sandel]
23125 Most good social changes are incremental, rather than revolutionary [Gopnik]