PYQ Vault · Paper 1 · Western Political Thought
Comment on the Locke’s views on Revolution in 150 words
How the answer moves
The flow snapshot — the routes in, the body, the counter-view and the routes out.
Flow snapshot — how the answer moves
Intro routes
revolution flows from trust theory → state holds delegated power, real power stays with people Locke as defender of the Glorious Revolution → resistance to tyranny built into the social contract → right to revolt
Body flow
trust + delegated power → breach (arbitrary will / failure to protect life, liberty, property) → powerreturnsto people → right torevolt → meaning narrowed → unlike Marx, not violent overthrow → peaceful constitutional change of rulers / no-confidence analogue → dissolution of government # dissolution of society
Counter-view
conservative by temperament → Sabine: not a revolutionary, extreme cases only → Plamenatz: right confined to educated / propertied classes
Conclusion routes
limited, defensive safeguard against tyranny, not radical change legitimacy rests on consent → consent withdrawn on breach → revolution as constitutional self-correction
Model answer
Handwritten, in the form it would be written in the examination hall.
