John Locke And The Russian Revolution

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The Russian Revolution changed the course of world history, and it was inspired by the ideas of the English philosopher John Locke. John Locke was an Enlightenment thinker who argued there was a social contract between a government and its citizens and that it was the duty of the government to protect their rights to life, liberty and property. If it did not respect these rights, it was the duty of the people to replace it. In Russia, Tzar Nicholas II was an absolute leader who did not respect these rights and weakened Russia’s social and economical power, which led to the Russian Revolution and the abolishment of his reign. Later on, the provisional government that followed his reign was also overthrown for similar reasons. Thus, the Russian…show more content…
The Enlightenment was a period of great change in political, economic and social ideas in the 1600-1700. Many thinkers and scientists of that time challenged old accepted beliefs and had new thoughts and ideas, and Locke was one of them. His main political ideas were on the relationship between the government and its citizens. He thought that there was a social contract between the government and the people of a country. Locke was against absolute monarchy and believed in the idea of self-government. According to him, everyone is equal and has the right to the three natural rights of life, liberty and property. The only role of the government is to protect these rights; it is the duty of the people to overthrow the government if it does not do so (Beck 196). John Locke’s ideas had a great influence not only on his time but also on the Russian Revolution, and are still significant in today’s…show more content…
At the time of the Russian Revolution, the Russian government did not respect these essential rights that should be provided to all citizens, so the population overthrew the government twice; first the reign of tsar Nicholas II, then the provisional government of Alexander Kerensky. Therefore, John Locke’s ideas on the duty of the government to protect life, liberty and property, as well as the duty of the citizens to otherthrow and replace the government if it doesn’t protect these natural rights, inspired the Russian Revolution of 1917. It resulted in a new communist government led by Lenin which was more appropriate to the need of the people at this time. However after some time, new issues arrised with the communist government as well, and led to a civil war in
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