Locke and Load

We'll be fighting in the streets
With our children at our feet
--The Who

I want to cut and paste this passage from Rothbard's review of the origins of libertarian thought in Colonial America:

"Locke began his analysis with the "state of nature" — not as an historical hypothesis but as a logical construct — a world without government, to penetrate to the proper foundation of the state. In the state of nature, each man as a natural fact has complete ownership or property over his own person. These persons confront unused natural resources or "land," and they are able to maintain and advance themselves by "mixing their labor with the land." Through this mixing, the hitherto unowned and unused natural resources become the property of the individual mixer. The individual thereby acquires a property right not only in his own person but also in the land that he has brought into use and transformed by his labor. The individual, then, may keep this property, exchange it for the property of others, or bequeath it to his heirs. He has the "natural right" to the property and to defend it against invasion by others. The moral justification for government, to Locke, was to defend these rights of property. Should government fail to serve this function, and itself become destructive of property rights, the people then have the right to revolt against such government and to replace it with one that will defend their rights."

Locke's theory of 'natural rights' provided cornerstone impetus for the American Revolution and for our subsequent structure as a federal republic.

His key points: Individual's natural rights include life, wherewithal to produce with one's life according to one's individual wishes, and personal property.

Government's role is to defend the individual's rights. If a government fails to defend these rights, then people have the right to revolt and swap out the government with one that will defend them.

Turning to our present condition, as government failure to defend individual's individual's natural rights continues to escalate, one has to wonder whether (or when) people will exercise their right to revolution.