The Nature of Man
Locke’s entire political ideological constitution springs forth from his seminal conception that the natural state of every man is free and from this universality is derived another essential aspect of the natural state of man: equality. By natural state, Locke is not referring to any inherent characteristic of the individual, but rather the state of man in the absence of a controlling authority. Government of any kind is an unnatural force upon human nature, but though unnatural is still to be considered a necessity. And it is precisely this necessity which fosters the fundamental application of any ruling authority which may be deemed a just one for the purpose of preserving as much of that natural state of man as possible.
Legitimacy Requires Consent
Since any form of government is bound to place fetters upon freedom and diminish equality without sufficient basis, there is just one inviolate rule capable of determining legitimacy. A legitimate government is one that wields its authority justly and the only acceptable judgment of whether authority is wield justly or unjustly can come not from the governors, but those they govern. Thus, a legitimate government is one that can only retain its power through the consent of the people. By these standards, not just the type of absolute monarchy of Locke’s age, but a “democratically elected for life” leader of a country in the 21st century would qualify as illegitimate because the distinction is not made on the basis of how leadership acquires power, but what means exist to depose that leader by common consent.
Getting God Out of Government
A pervasive theme throughout much of Locke’s political writings but as the guiding principle behind arguments in his First Treatise of Government and Letters on Toleration is that for any evolution to be made in the establishment of a more just and equal government of the people, the first essential step is to divorce it from religion. The First Treatise is essentially just one long point-by-point negation of the arguments favoring absolutism made by Robert Filmer. Filmer’s entire justification for his views are based in scripture; from this perspective (not original to Filmer, of course) derives the entire fictional construct of the divine right of kings through a process which denies Locke’s assertion of universal equality by insisting that some humans are born more equal than others. As for Locke’s essays on the subject of religious toleration, these writings become the basis for the revolution in political morality established in the wake of the American revolution with the concerted effort to separate the interests of the church from the interests of the state.
