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When did Locke believe people had the right to overthrow a government?

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English philosopher Thomas Hobbes — social contract Thomas Hobbes, detail of an oil painting by John Michael Wright; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

According to John Locke’s political philosophy, the social contract is a conditional agreement where individuals consent to be governed in exchange for the protection of their natural rights, including life, liberty, and property.12

Locke believed that people have the right to overthrow a government when it abuses its trust and violates these fundamental rights. Because the legitimacy of a government is derived solely from the consent of the governed, a regime that acts in a despotic manner or fails to provide the conditions necessary for citizens to enjoy their natural rights forfeits its authority.314

In such instances, the people are entitled to rebel, remove the existing power, and replace it with a new government to which they can willingly give their consent. Locke maintained that the people themselves are the ultimate judges of whether a government has abused its trust, effectively affirming the right of revolution as a necessary recourse against tyranny.43