FREE ESSAY ON JOHN LOCKE ON THE EXTENT OF THE LEGISLATIVE POWER

JOHN LOCKE ON THE EXTENT OF THE LEGISLATIVE POWER

Locke on Politics, Religion, and Education- chap. 1 
JOHN LOCKE
ON THE EXTENT OF THE LEGISLATIVE POWER 
It is easy to see where the philosophy behind our country's system of government was
derived from when you read any of Locke's essays on civil government. In fact if you have
read our own Declaration of Independence it is possible to recognize the similarity
between it and Lock's writings. In many cases it almost seems as though we took from him
word for word the passages written in our nations most treasured documents: 
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,
Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are
instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the
governed……." 
(Source: http://www.bookstore-cool.com/A_Declaration.html)
Indeed, John Locke's philosophy had a great impact on the early formation of our nation;
it serves as a basis on which we have built this great nation that we live in today. By
looking at Locke's philosophy on the extent of any given legislature's power it is
interesting to compare his ideas to our actual practices.
Long ago "man" lived in what Locke called a state of Nature before entering into, or
forming, a society. In this State of Nature men where naturally free, equal, and
independent. No one could be subjected to a political power without his/her consent.
Societies or communities are formed when men/women come together and agree to join or
unite in order to further their interests as well as the community's. When men and women
join a community and agree to form a legislature they give their individual power up to
the community. Locke believes that the power given to the legislator or assembly can be
no more than the amount of power possessed by the individual people in their prior state
of Nature. For nobody can transfer to another more power than he has in himself, and
nobody has an absolute arbitrary power over himself, or over any other, to destroy his
own life, or take away the life or property of another." (Locke). Therefore although the
legislature may be the supreme power in every commonwealth, it is not, nor can possibly
be, absolutely arbitrary over the lives and fortunes of the people." (Locke). 
Locke believes the power that is given to a legislature is limited to the public good of
the society, and that power is used only to preserve what is good for the society.
Therefore the power we give to our legislatures should never be used to destroy, enslave,
or impoverish us it should only be used to further the interests of us all and to
preserve those interests. Here Locke points out that, "the obligations of the law of
Nature cease not in society……..Thus the law of Nature stands as an eternal
rule to all men, legislators as well as others. The rules that they make for other men's
actions must, as well as their own and other men's actions, be conformable to the law of
Nature-i.e. to the will of God, of which that is a declaration, and the fundamental law
of nature being the preservation of mankind, no human sanctions can be good or valid
against it." (Locke). This is not to say that we should govern ourselves strictly by
God's will. To the contrary, we must write laws, authorize judges, and determine
individual's rights. The law of Nature is unwritten and exists only in our minds; it is
foolish to think that one's interpretation will not be disputed by another. Without
written laws governing us our ability to gain peace, protect our property, and our
personal safety would be as uncertain as it was in the state of Nature. 
The United State's system of government is based on the very same reasoning; at least it
was set out that way in the beginning. We give our power to officials, elected by us, in
hopes that they will represent our interests. Our government does not have the power to
enslave, destroy, or purposely impoverish us or take away our property without just
cause. Sounds a lot like what Locke was trying to say, but the politics of modern-day
America are much more complex. 
Does the "Law of Nature" still exist in modern America? Of course there are examples of
laws that represent what anyone would consider the will of God such as murder, rape,
theft, and adultery. What about all those other millions of codes, statutes, and
ordinances we are forced to adhere to. Should the Government have the authority to impose
status offences or speed limits? Going strictly on my readings of Locke's philosophy on
the extent of a legislature's power I believe I could argue both yes and no. One could
say "yes" because speed limits and drinking age limitations help further the public good
of the society. One could argue "no" because in a state of Nature a person never had to
conform to anything because of his/her age. Locke believed that the legislative, "being
but the joint power of every member of the society given up to that person or assembly
which is legislator, it can be no more than those persons had in a state of Nature before
they entered into society, and gave it up to the community." (Locke). The complexities of
the current United States legislature are abundant. It is hard to simplify its actions
into Locke's perception of what a legislature's powers are. Has our legislature deviated
from its purpose? According to Locke a legislature's purpose being simply the
preservation of our society. I wouldn't say it has deviated from this but I think it has
gone further than this. The question is how far should the legislature be allowed to
deviate from its initial purpose.