Locke's Two Treatises of Government › The Limits of Government Power

Locke's theory is fundamentally about limited government. The social contract does not hand rulers unlimited power. It creates a trust, and trustees can act only within the terms of that trust. Several specific limits follow. Government cannot rule by arbitrary decree. It must govern through standing laws that are publicly known and equally applied. The rule of law, not the whims of rulers, is essential to legitimate government. Government cannot take property without consent. Taxation requires the agreement of the people or their representatives. This is the theoretical foundation of "no taxation without representation." Property rights exist prior to government and cannot be violated by government except through legitimate procedures. Government cannot transfer its legislative power to others. The people entrusted lawmaking to a specific body. That body cannot hand off its authority to someone else without going back to the people for fresh consent. Government's purpose is limited to protecting natural rights. It has no authority to pursue other ends, however noble they might seem. The scope of legitimate government action is bounded by its founding purpose.