John Locke's A Letter Concerning Toleration

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The government plays such a vital role in our daily lives that we do not realize how chaotic the world would be without it; on the contrary we find it intrusive and nettlesome. Every successful country has realized the importance of a legitimate power for order and functionality. In fact, as the United States government formed, Locke’s political theory in “A Letter Concerning Toleration”, influenced the ideas found in the constitution. Locke’s Letter lays out the blueprint for the roles that the state and the individual take part in. The government was established for the protection of individual rights (including smoking) for the benefit of the desires of the individual, and the state has the duty to protect all individuals in a society, which …show more content…
The government is not to meddle with every detail of a man’s life, because that would take away even more of the power which each individual has over his life and which it is not entitled to. As Locke states, “Let any man pull down, or build, or make whatsoever Expences he pleases…no body controuls him; he has his Liberty.” The state is to allow every man to do as he chooses with what is under his possession and property, since it is a part of his individual rights. Specifically, in the case of smoking, which puts at risk bodily health, “every man may consider what suits his own conveniency and follow what course he likes best”. Anyone has the right to smoke and can do so without any interference because “Every one is to be accountable for his own Actions”. Nevertheless, once that pleasure impacts another the law can interfere, since “laws provide… the Goods and Health of Subjects be not injured by the Fraud or Violence of others”. When a woman is pregnant, her lifestyle impact the health of the fetus inside of her. In Locke’s point of view, a living being is protected by the law once quickening (or stirrings of the fetus), are notable. Thus, if a woman smokes during pregnancy, she “contributes to a number of adverse birth outcomes, including spontaneous abortion, stillbirth, fetal death, low birth weight, prematurity, and intrauterine growth retardation. Smoking is the most important known preventable risk factor for low birth weight, a leading cause of fetal and neonatal deaths.” Even though, the pregnant woman has a right to her own sources of pleasure, unless it negatively impacts another person (in this case the fetus), then the government can interfere because, according to Locke, “those things that are prejudicial to