The American founders who drafted and signed the Declaration of Independence grounded their case for separating from Great Britain on a philosophy of government derived from the writings of John Locke: especially from Lockean notions of legitimate government vs. illegitimate government, i.e. tyranny.
In his Two Treatises of Government, Locke wrote:
โPolitical power, then, I take to be a right of making laws with penalties of death, and consequently all less penalties, for the regulating and preserving of property, and of employing the force of the community, in the execution of such laws, and in the defence of the common-wealth from foreign injury; and all this only for the public good.โ
Here, Locke defined โpolitical powerโ as power within right, i.e., legitimate government.
For Locke, the opposite of legitimate government (โpolitical powerโ) is โpower beyond right,โ which he called โtyranny.โ
โโฆtyranny is the exercise of power beyond right, which no body can have a right to. And this is making use of the power any one has in his hands, not for the good of those who are under it, but for his own private separate advantage. When the governor, however intitled, makes not the law, but his will, the rule; and his commands and actions are not directed to the preservation of the properties of his people, but the satisfaction of his own ambition, revenge, covetousness, or any other irregular passion.โ
In these two passages, we can see Lockeโs criteria for distinguishing legitimate government from tyranny.
- Rule of Law vs. Rule of Man: Legitimate government involves โmaking lawsโ and โthe execution of such laws.โ Tyranny is โWhen the governor, however intitled, makes not the law, but his will, the ruleโฆโ In modern terminology, this is the distinction between โthe rule of lawโ and โthe rule of man.โ
- Public Good vs. Private Advantage: Legitimate government is โonly for the public good.โ Tyranny is the use of power โnot for the good of those who are under it, but for his own private separate advantage.โ
- Rights Protection vs. Rights Non-Protection: And the whole purpose of government, according to Locke, is the protection of โrightsโ/โproperty,โ by which he means rightful ownership of possessions as well as oneโs own body. Thus, tyranny is when a rulerโs โcommands and actions are not directed to the preservation of the properties of his people, but the satisfaction of his own ambition, revenge, covetousness, or any other irregular passion.โ
According to the American Founders, in each of the above three regards, the British government was behaving tyrannically. Thus the Declaration of Independence and thus the Revolution.
Watch Michael Boldin of the Tenth Amendment Center discuss this article:
This article was originally published on Dan Sanchezโs Substack publication โLetters on Liberty ” and on FEE.org. Read the original article.
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