You'll have to decide your own opinion of Locke's ideas, but I agree with his thinking. Let me explain, and note some examples in history that were influenced by Locke's thinking.
John Locke's idea was arguing the theory of a "social contract." According to Locke's view, a government's power to govern comes from the consent of the people themselves -- those who are to be governed. This was a change from the previous ideas of "divine right monarchy" -- that a king ruled because God appointed him to be the ruler. Locke repudiated the views of divine right monarchy in his First Treatise on Civil Government (169)). In his Second Treatise on Civil Government (1690), Locke argued for the rights of the people to create their own governments according to their own desires and for the sake of protecting their own life, liberty, and property. If a government failed to maintain respect for the people's rights and serve their interests, then the people are entitled to replace that government with a better one.
Specific examples of where Locke's ideas had impact:
The American founding fathers read Locke (as well as other Enlightenment writers). The American Revolution (1775-1783) was inspired by ideas such as those of Locke. Thomas Jefferson embedded ideas like those of Locke into the Declaration of Independence (1776), in which he wrote: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."The French Revolution (1789-1799) also took cues from the political philosophy of John Locke, overthrowing the unwanted monarchy of Louis XVI. The Declaration of the Rights of Man (1789) expressed ideas like those of Locke when it said, "The aim of all political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression. The principle of all sovereignty resides essentially in the nation. No body nor individual may exercise any authority which does not proceed directly from the nation."
