Origins of Power and Rights of Man

What are the Origins of Power and the Rights of Man? With headlines of war and rebellion in the Middle East, some may start to double guess the purpose of a government, or if the governed should have the right to rebel. Humanity has been scorn with inhumane and viciously harmful leaders. All one has to do to understand this fact now is turn on the television to see the graphic images of murder, genocide and bombing s that are taking in place in our world, currently. So one has to ask themselves; who gave the corrupt leaders the power in the first place? And why do the governed rebel if there is so much harm caused by their actions? English Philosophers such as John Locke and Thomas Paine have been trying to answer these questions since the beginning of time. Power comes from the need to protect the humans and the security of their natural rights, explained by John Locke. Although, Thomas Paine states that once a government does not complete their responsibility towards society, revolutions are permitted. When humans are born into society, they are granted the natural rights; of life, liberty and property. God accredits these rights to each individual, as he is the creator of humans and only he can take away these rights he has given to humanity, no other person has the right to interfere with these natural rights that have been granted by God. These are concepts taken out of John Locke’s most important political book, The Second Treatise of Government, which he wrote around the time of the Exclusion Crisis in England in the 1680’s. In this important political piece, Locke uses natural law as the foundation of his philosophy. To introduce the State of Nature in his book, John Locke states; “ To understand political power right, and derive it from its original, we must consider, what state all men are naturally in, and that is, a state of perfect freedom to order their actions, and dispose of their possessions and persons, as they think fit, within the bounds of the law of nature, without asking leave, or depending upon the will of any other man,” (Locke, Section 4, Chapter II). Locke is explaining that there was a time before government and that humans are capable of telling right from wrong and do not need a higher form of legislation to direct them, as they can protect themselves and their own natural rights and defend themselves from those who don’t respect the natural rights. In more depth, Locke explains “And that all men may be restrained from invading others rights, and from doing hurt to one another, and the law of nature be observed, which willeth the peace and preservation of all mankind, the execution of the law of nature is, in that state, put into every man 's hands, whereby every one has a right to punish the transgressors of that law to such a degree, as may hinder its violation: for the law of nature would, as all other laws that concern men in this world 'be in vain, if there were no body that in the state of nature had a power to execute that law, and thereby preserve the innocent and restrain offenders. And if any one in the state of nature may punish another for any evil he has done, every one may do so: for in that state of perfect equality, where naturally there is no superiority or jurisdiction of one over another, what any may do in prosecution of that law, every one must needs have a right to do,” (Locke, Section 7, Chapter II). This means that regardless of the fact that all humans are equally obliged to follow the natural rights and state of nature; the ones that do not will still be punished to a reasonable extent. This brings the philosophers to the debate of the origin of power. Both Thomas Paine and John Locke did agree that the need for a leader would possibly arise for the purpose of preserving the natural rights that every individual is granted. The key in both of their common thoughts is the safety and protection of the natural rights to ensure they are secure. Locke stated that government should be limited to securing life and property because minimal state involvement meant minimal problems for society. Paine was also famous for a political book called “Common Sense.” He first published it anonymously in January 1776 and it was one of the first documents of his time to support a Republican form of government. Thomas Paine began this book by discussing the purpose of government and expressing a unique Republican point of view. “Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil in its worst state an intolerable one; for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries by a government, which we might expect in a country without government, our calamities is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer! “(Paine, Section I, Common Sense) Thomas Paine values the importance of society and emphasizes the difference between government and society. He knows a positive society is to strive for and knows that government is a “necessary evil.” By this he means, that if a country with a government has dictatorship and control it is much more harmful then a country where it would all occur on it’s own. This brings the similarity between Paine and Locke; they both agreed that if people were all moral, government would not be a necessity to obtain a positive form of society. However, they have both realistically accepted the fact that all of society is not moral and there will be a few exceptional bad apples, therefore government is needed to protect life and property. Paine stated the effectiveness of a state “depends on the strength of government, and the happiness of the governed” (Paine, Section 1, Common Sense). All in all, Paine was stating he wanted a government that was selfless and was the least expensive but had the most benefit for the people and if this was not achieved and the governed individuals are not happy, then change is needed. When a government cannot fulfill the need to protect the basic natural rights of life liberty and property, the government should be overthrown and replaced with a new state that will. They have a minimal purpose; which is to secure these natural rights. These were the views of Thomas Paine. Paine believed that once a government has had their time in society and they are over, that means they are over and there should be somebody new to focus on protecting these rights. There was no common sense to how the dead could place legislation and protect the rights of the living. These theories were established in another political piece by Thomas Paine, The Rights of Man, in 1791 and 1792. The Rights of Man was a response to a former philosopher friend, Edmund Burke who had published the Reflections on the French Revolution in France in 1790. Paine criticizes forms of government and state such as aristocracy and monarchy, saying they are not meeting the sole purpose of having a state to govern society. Paine’s views are short and sweet; that government has specific, unalienable natural rights to protect and if they do not and do not bring the society the benefit of these natural rights, then the government is not legitimate and shall be over thrown to a new state with new views that can bring about more fulfillment with less impact. Therefore, it is evident what the purpose of government is towards society in the views of the English philosophers, John Locke and Thomas Paine. With John Locke’s views, it is reasonable to observe that not all people are moral and there will always be a few bad apples; as a result making government a necessary evil to ensure the natural rights of life, liberty and property towards every individual, given by God. With Thomas Paine agreeing to this, government must be changed if they do not measure up to the happiness of the governed and fulfill their responsibility towards society.

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