John Locke, World Human Rights Pioneer

 By Akhmad Zamroni

Source: https://acumen.cas.lehigh.edu

John Locke was born in Wrington, Somerset, England, on August 29, 1632. In 1656 he obtained a bachelor's degree from the University of Oxford, England, then in 1658 received a full bachelor's degree from the same university. As a teenager, Locke had been very interested in science and at the age of 36 was elected to the Royal Society. Locke was also interested in medicine and was able to earn a baccalaureate degree in this field.

Locke died in Oats, Essex, on October 28, 1704. Until the end of his life, Locke was single. He became a close friend of the famous chemist, Robert Boyle. For most of his life, Locke also became a close friend of Isaac Newton, the famous and most influential physicist in England and in the world.

John Locke's acquaintance with Prince Shaftesbury led him to become the family secretary and doctor of the prince. Prince Shaftesbury was briefly imprisoned by King Charles II for his liberal ideas and political activities. In 1682 Shaftesbury fled to the Netherlands, then the following year he died in the Land of the Ferris Wheel. Locke himself was kept under constant surveillance by the royal apparatus due to his close relationship with the late Shaftesbury, so he also fled to the Netherlands (1683). Locke returned and settled in England in 1689 after King James II (successor to King Charles II) was overthrown in a revolution.

Foundations of Human Rights

What and how is the relationship between John Locke and human rights? What is its contribution to the development of human rights? Is he included in the ranks of the world's human rights warriors, warriors, or heroes? Is it true that he is one of the figures who contributed to the development of human rights?

Locke was the most brilliant philosopher Britain ever had. As a philosopher, Locke did not fight for something by maneuver (movement) and physical strength, but with his thoughts or ideas. Locke conveyed his ideas in writing in book form. The books he wrote made his ideas spread throughout the world, inspired many other figures and nations, and made his name legendary.

Books that especially made his reputation soar and famous were A Letter Concerning Toleration  (published in 1689), An Essay Concerning Human Understanding  (1690), and Two Treatises of Government  (1690). These books, among others, contain Locke's thoughts on the nature and limitations of humans, basic and human rights, interfaith tolerance, the rights of kings, powers and duties of government, and the state constitution. Other books of his work are Some Considerations of the Consequences of the Lowering of Interest and Raising of the Value of Money  (1692), Some Thoughts Concerning Education  (1693), The Reasonableness of Christianity  (1695), and Further Considerations of the Raising the Value of Money  (1695).

Locke is one of the world's leading figures and pioneers of human rights. Long before other figures discussed human rights issues in a systematic and in-depth manner, Locke had done it convincingly. At a time when many nations of the world live in occupation, oppression, poverty, and acute ignorance, which makes them almost completely unconscious of human rights, through his ideas Locke has tried to lay the foundations of human rights to raise awareness. of the importance of human rights. Locke has been doing all of this since the 17th century (1600s).

About four centuries before Locke was born, in England there was already a Magna Charta (1215), a document that regulated the rights of kings and the rights of the people. However, this document can be said to be a collective work which tends to contain general formulations regarding the regulation of rights (kings and people) in British society only. As for human rights, Locke discusses them in more detail and more fundamentally in terms of the scope, life and interests of mankind (all over the world).

Father of Human Rights

In his book, Two Treatises of Government,  Locke, among others, states that every human being –– of course not only in England –– has natural rights. This right is not only related to the right to life, but also to personal freedom and the right to own something. In this regard, according to Locke, the government has a duty and responsibility to protect the population and property rights of citizens.

Locke is of the view that humans, based on natural law, are free and equal and have natural rights that cannot be transferred to other groups of society, except through community agreements. When they become members of society, humans/individuals only give up certain rights for the sake of security and common interests. Every individual still has the fundamental prerogative derived from nature. This right is an inseparable part of his personality as a human being. Locke's conviction and views on the existence of an eternal right inherent in every human being has led him to become a figure who has earned the title "Father of Human Rights".

Regarding the relationship between the government (kingdom) and the people, Locke rejected the notion that the king had sacred rights. He emphasized that the government can exercise its power only if it has the approval of the party being governed (the people). According to him, personal independence in society is under the agreed legislative powers in a country. If legislators usurp and destroy property rights of the population or reduce it and lead to slavery under power, they are in a state of war with the population; and because of this, the population is free from guilt when it comes to insubordination.

For Locke, government does not have unlimited power. He insisted on the principle of power based on the majority, but the majority group was not allowed to destroy the nature of human rights. A government can only confiscate property rights if it has the consent (approval) of the party being governed.

Regarding freedom of religion and worship, Locke discusses it in the book A Letter Concerning Toleration. According to Locke, the government is not allowed to intervene too far in community worship activities. Locke conveyed his idea mainly to protect adherents of non-Christian religions and beliefs - at that time Christianity became the majority religion in Britain. He considers that neither adherents of primitive beliefs, Islam, nor Judaism should not have their civil rights reduced in state life solely on the basis of religious considerations.

       Locke's writings were felt to exude an extraordinary fascination. His ideas regarding the rights of the people/population, the duties and responsibilities of the government, as well as the freedom of the people/population to carry out defiance or resistance to the government (if the government engages in oppression) are widespread and have a strong influence on philosophers, freedom activists, freedom fighters , movers of revolution, and leaders of countries around the world. Locke's ideas penetrated the thoughts of famous philosophers, such as David Hume, Voltaire, and Immanuel Kant. One of the nation's leaders in the United States, Thomas Jefferson, was so impressed with Locke's thoughts that he used his ideas to formulate the American Declaration of Independence. Locke's ideas indirectly triggered the French Revolution and the American Revolution and led to the formulation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations.