The contribution of Locke’s Social Contract Theory in modern thought:
John Locke was a major political thinker of England. In his time, there happened the bloodless or Glorious Revolution in England. He described limited monarchy as the best system of administration. His famous creation is ‘Two Treatises on Government’. He propagated the social contract theory of the origin of the state. Despite facing criticism, Locke’s theory has given important contribution in the modern thought, which is mentioned here:
- It propagated the principle of natural rights, which paved the way for the formation of fundamental rights in this modern period
- By propagating the principle of public consensus, it developed the concept of democracy on the basis of majority in modern time,
- These thoughts provided force to the liberal thought
- By the principle (theory) of limited monarchy, Montesqueu, the French thinker, could come out with the theory of power segregation.