Which philosopher argued that government has an obligation to protect natural rights, and that people may rebel if the government fails?

Which philosopher argued that government has an obligation to protect natural rights, and that people may rebel if the government fails?

• A. Voltaire
• B. John Locke
• C. Thomas Hobbes
• D. Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Answer: (B)

The key idea here is that natural rights—life, liberty, and property—exist prior to government, and a legitimate authority must be set up with the purpose of protecting those rights. John Locke argues that government is formed with the consent of the governed to secure these rights, and its powers are limited to that end. When rulers fail to protect the rights or overstep their authority, the social contract is violated, and the people retain the right to resist or replace the government with one that will uphold their protections. This notion of conditional legitimacy and the right of rebellion if the government betrays its obligations is central to Locke’s theory, and it helped shape modern ideas about political legitimacy and consent. Contextually, Locke’s Two Treatises of Government anchors this view and directly links the protection of natural rights to political obligation. His emphasis on government by assent and the ability to withdraw that consent influenced later democratic thought and the language of revolutions, including the American Revolution. Other philosophers—Voltaire focusing on civil liberties, Hobbes arguing for an absolute sovereign, and Rousseau's emphasis on the general will—approach authority and rights differently, which is why Locke’s articulation is the best fit for this idea.

The key idea here is that natural rights—life, liberty, and property—exist prior to government, and a legitimate authority must be set up with the purpose of protecting those rights. John Locke argues that government is formed with the consent of the governed to secure these rights, and its powers are limited to that end. When rulers fail to protect the rights or overstep their authority, the social contract is violated, and the people retain the right to resist or replace the government with one that will uphold their protections. This notion of conditional legitimacy and the right of rebellion if the government betrays its obligations is central to Locke’s theory, and it helped shape modern ideas about political legitimacy and consent.

Contextually, Locke’s Two Treatises of Government anchors this view and directly links the protection of natural rights to political obligation. His emphasis on government by assent and the ability to withdraw that consent influenced later democratic thought and the language of revolutions, including the American Revolution. Other philosophers—Voltaire focusing on civil liberties, Hobbes arguing for an absolute sovereign, and Rousseau's emphasis on the general will—approach authority and rights differently, which is why Locke’s articulation is the best fit for this idea.