Source: Justice: A Journey in Moral Reasoning
National K -12 Subject:
In this fourth set of video lectures from Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?, Harvard University professor Michael Sandel discusses the arguments of John Locke, both a supporter and detractor of the theory of Libertarianism. In the first lecture, he examines Locke's argument that before any political structure has been established, every human has certain natural rights to life, liberty, and property; and that government is charged with looking after one's individual rights, as defined by the majority. In the second lecture, he investigates the apparent conflict between Locke's belief in unalienable rights and the reality that government can tax individuals without their consent. Locke's answer is that by living in society, we give our "implied consent" to taxation laws; and as long as government doesn't arbitrarily target a particular group for taxation, then taxation isn't a violation of the fundamental rights of individuals.
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