Abstract
John Locke, a philosopher and doctor of the 17th century is seen as the father of the liberal theory in political science. His theories about the State have to be understood in an historical revolutionary background. Indeed, all his reflections about state's birth and goals have been made around the British revolution. John Locke is known to be the inspirer of the Independence Declaration of 1776, and the author of two main books, the Two Treatises of Government, in which he exposes his theories about the State. As he is known as a liberal thinker, we are going to wonder in this essay what the bases of his ideas about the limitations on legitimate government are.
Nowadays, the liberal ideology is seen as a state's disengagement one. But actually, Locke's principles are more complex, and his reflection about the balance between state and liberty are really interesting. To understand why the state defended by Locke is a limited one, we will see the Locke's vision of state of nature in order to understand next how a state appears in his theory. Those theoretical bases will allow us to understand in a last part the limitations on legitimate government.
