7 Disney Characters That Belong In Locke's Second Treatise

Locke wrote about government ideas that have lasted hundreds of years. Disney has created timeless, classic characters. There's gotta be some overlap somewhere. (Right here.)

Mother Gothel

tumblr.com

"Tyranny is the exercise of Power beyond Right." (398)

"Where-ever Law ends, Tyranny begins." (400)

There's no law in Rapunzel's tower, which is why she was subjugated to imprisonment/kidnapping/house arrest for 18 years. Good ol' Gothel.

Fairy Godmother

tumblr.com

"The righteous and just King by the contrary acknowledge himself to be ordained for the procuring of the Wealth and Property of his people." (399)

Okay, okay, so she's not royalty but Locke would totally celebrate the selflessness of Cinderella's fairy godmother -- she's got a lot of power in that wand and she only (well, as far as we know) uses it to help others. Fixing up a dress and changing a pumpkin might not sound like much, but Cinderella ended up with a kingdom and a great pair of shoes (wealth AND property). Where's my fairy godmother?

Kuzko

tumblr.com

"The proud and ambitious Tyrant doth think, his Kingdom and People are only ordained for satisfaction of his Desires and unreasonable Appetites." (399)

If you looked up 'selfish', 'unreasonable', 'narcissistic', or 'greedy' in the dictionary, Kuzko's face would be there. He's obnoxious -- doesn't care about his people (or anyone except for himself). Thankfully, a quick trip over a waterfall helped him become more benevolent.

Mufasa

tumblr.com

"The Law could not restore Life to my dead Carcass: the Loss was irreparable; the Law of Nature gave me a right to destroy him, who had put himself into a State of War with me, and threatened my destruction." (404)

Had Mufasa lived, the law of nature gave him the right to kick Scar's ass. So much brotherly love.

Sully & Mike Wazowski

tumblr.com

"Governments are dissolved from within." (407)

Okay, let's be honest -- no one (especially Waternoose) expected James P. Sullivan to completely revolutionize the entire scaring industry. As the top scarer, Sully was in the perfect position to spark some change. Or a lot of change. He wouldn't/couldn't have made it without Mike though.

Carl Fredrickson

tumblr.com

"If the innocent honest Man must quietly quit all he has for Peace sake, to him who will lay violent hands upon it, I desire it may be consider'd, what a kind of Peace there will be in the World, which consists only in Violence and Rapine; and which is to be maintain'd only for the benefits of Robbers and Oppressors." (417)

Pestered by construction workers, Carl Fredrickson finally had to take to the skies. Much more peaceful, until he remembered that Wilderness Explorer hanging out (literally) on the porch.

Wall-E

tumblr.com

"The end of Government is the good of Mankind." (417)

Insanely obese humans have been stuck on the spaceship Axiom for seven hundred years, but when Wall E and Eve show up with real vegetation, they finally escape the tyrannical control of the ship's Auto pilot and start improving life on Earth again. (In baby steps, of course. They can't move any faster.)

*Dreamworks Bonus* Shrek

tumblr.com

"The Reason why Men enter into Society, is the preservation of their Property." (412)

Shrek was perfectly content in his swamp until fairytale folk started setting up camp. Hence, the Duloc road trip. Get out of his swamp.