John Locke (Eva Lindquist): Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity

          Liberty, equality, and fraternity are clearly of the highest importance. These are the basic rights of men. Order, security, and efficiency are secondary qualities, although governments tend to put more emphasis on them. In an ideal world, every man is free and equal, being a brother to every man he meets. Yes, there would be more dangers, but by adhering to the basic tenets, mankind would live well. With the other set of ideals, however, every man would be trapped under the control of a single leader. In such a situation, a man would have to account for and justify every action. Control on such a level would qualify as survival, not as life. While order, security, and efficiency may facilitate survival, they do not fulfill the basic needs of mankind for freedom and equality. The idea of the presence of a ruler, a person who ranks himself above all others, contradicts the ideas of fraternity and equality, for is he not declaring himself to be different from and better than all others? Liberty, equality, and fraternity are the rights every man must value the most.