Abstract

PEREYRA, Guillermo. Locke and the Theory of Popular rebellion. Estud. polít. (Méx.) [online]. 2018, n.44, pp.185-201. ISSN 0185-1616.  https://doi.org/10.22201/fcpys.24484903e.2018.44.64759.

This paper studies three fundamental aspects of Locke’s theory of rebellion. First, the rebellion is a legitimate violence which the people practice to responding for the violence of the tyrant. A rebellion is a mutual confrontation between the people and the tyrant whose ending is still. The violence of rebellion is illegitimate when it is not taken in the context of natural law. Secondly, a rebellion does not destroy the political system; rather the tyrant should dissolve the political regime because of their actions against the natural law. Locke believes that a rebellion could reunite and unify the multitudes towards the figure of the people; therefore a rebellion does not imply a chaos that scattered individuals. Finally, a rebellion is not a result of irrational fury; people would take up arms only after making a judgment about whether or not the government is guaranteeing the public good.

Keywords : Locke; liberalism; rebellion; people; natural law.

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