Under what circumstances did John Locke think it would be acceptable for the people to overthrow the government?

A. It is never acceptable, as overthrowing the government would be a violation of the social contract.

B. If the people were to break the social contract and seek a different type of rule, the people could overthrow the government.

C. If the government violated the social contract, the people could overthrow the government.

D. If the government failed to accept new natural rights, the people could overthrow the government.

The correct option is C

John Locke was an English philosopher and physician, considered one of the most influential thinkers of English empiricism and known as the "Father of Classical Liberalism." He was one of the first British empiricists. Influenced by the ideas of Francis Bacon, he made an important contribution to the theory of the social contract.

Locke composed most of the Two Treatises on Civil Government. While it was thought that Locke wrote the Treaties to defend the Glorious Revolution of 1688, recent studies have shown that the work was written before that date. Work is now considered as a more general argument against absolute monarchy (in particular, exposed by Robert Filmer and Thomas Hobbes) and to achieve individual consent as the basis of political legitimacy.

For Locke The State's main mission is to protect those rights, as well as the individual liberties of citizens. He also argues that the government must be constituted by a king and a parliament. The parliament is where popular sovereignty is expressed and where the laws that both the king and the people must fulfill are made. Anticipating Montesquieu, whom Locke influenced, he describes the separation of the legislative and executive powers. The authority of the State is based on the principles of popular sovereignty and legality. Power is not absolute but must respect human rights.

The answer is C. if the government violated the social contract, the people could overthrow the government