Nov 13 2009
The right to be heard
Political theorists often vary in opinion as to the role that government should play in manís life. One political theorist, John Locke, wrote Two Treatises of Government in 1682, which was a key work for the American revolutionaries who eventually founded a government based largely upon Lockeís ideas. It is in Locke’s Second Treatise that he recognized that for any legitimate government to exist it must derive its authority from the consent of the governed. Furthermore, the authority of any government is only legitimate so long as it exists to protect the private property of its citizens. This makes sense because it does not make sense that any person should desire to place himself under the authority of another for any reason other then his own protection.
The right to life is an umbrella statement which, at its root, ìencompasses all things that your liberty allows you “including the free exercise of your mental faculties” (Edwards, R. Abe: Who Was Thaddeus Kosciusko?) Today there are ways to write a complaint letter that give you the ability to be heard. Similarly, the right to property may be defined as the right to own the fruit of your labor, or as Locke more aptly put it “…the condition of Human Life, which requires Labour [sic] and Materials to work on, necessarily introduces private possessions” (Second Treatise, Chapter 5, section 35.) Liberty is a consequence of the right to life (though the opposite may also be argued) and embodies the right of the individual to do as he pleases so long as he keeps from infringing upon the life, liberty or property of any other individual.