Even if individuals have entered into a social contract, if they feel their rights have been threatened, they do not have to give consent to their government. Where in U.S. history have you seen this before? This idea is one that Jefferson wrote into the Declaration of Independence explaining why it was okay for the colonies to break away from the King (and England).

So, Locke still believes in social contract, like Hobbes, except there's an added part. If the individuals believe their rights are being threatened by the government, they have a right to throw off that government and break the contract. The image below is an illustration of a social contract (Locke).

Left image: A crowd of people standing on a corner waiting for the crossing light to change; Right image: A photograph of English Queen, Victoria taken in 1882. She is wearing a crown and a very fine dress and holding a scepter; There are arrows pointing from each image to the other, with the label: 'give up their rights to a ruler' 'in order to have peace and protection'; A third arrow points down from the label to text: 'Ruler must have consent of the individuals, if not individuals can break the contract and revolt

Now let's see you fill in the blanks regarding Locke's point of view on individual liberty.

Interactive exercise. Assistance may be required. Drag each term to the correct place in the sentences below.