The First & Second Treatises of Government

• This edition contains John Locke's First and Second Treatises of Government, which are generally published as two volumes.

First published in 1689, Locke argues that government cannot be justified by an appeal to the divine right of the monarchy. In his Second Treatise, Locke outlines his theory of civil society. He argues that men are all equal in the state of nature by God, and he argues that legitimate governments rule by the consent of the people their government.

About The Author
Seventeenth century philosopher John Locke (1632 - 1704) founded the British Empiricism school of thought, and wrote extensively on limited, liberal government.