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In Chapters VIII-XI of his 2d Treatise on Government: Of Civil Government, John Locke makes his central argument for limited government. In Chapters VIII and IX, he argues that governments arise out of a situation with no government, and so derive their powers from the intentions of those in that initial situation of no government. In Chapters X and XI, he lays out his views on the most basic rules for appropriate government constitutions.

Below, I give links to all of my posts on these chapters, as well as links at the bottom to the aggregator posts for earlier chapters. Of the posts on Chapters VIII-XI, the most important five are these:

1. We Are All Born Free

2. Defense against the Black Hats is the Origin of the State

3. The Public Good

4. The Only Legitimate Power of Governments is to Articulate the Law of Nature

5. No One is Above the Law, which Must Be Established and Promulgated and Designed for the Good of the People; Taxes and Governmental Succession Require Approval of Elected Representatives

Here are all the posts on Chapters VIII-XI:

Chapter VIII: Of the Beginning of Political Societies

• John Locke's Argument for Majority Rule

• John Locke Argues for the Historicity of Social Contracts

• Kings as War Leaders

• Government by the Consent of the Governed Often Began Out of Respect for Someone Trusted to Govern

• We Are All Born Free

Chapter IX: Of the Ends of Political Society and Government

• Defense against the Black Hats is the Origin of the State

• The Public Good

Chapter X: Of the Forms of a Commonwealth

• Democracy, Oligarchy, Hereditary Monarchy, Elective Monarchy and Mixed Forms of Government

Chapter XI: Of the Extent of the Legislative Power

• The Only Legitimate Power of Governments is to Articulate the Law of Nature

• John Locke on the Importance of Established, Well-Publicized Laws

• Legitimate Taxation and other Appropriation of Property by the Government is Limited as to Quantity, Procedure and Purpose

• No One is Above the Law, which Must Be Established and Promulgated and Designed for the Good of the People; Taxes and Governmental Succession Require Approval of Elected Representatives

Links to posts on the earlier chapters of John Locke's 2d Treatise can be found here:

Posts on Chapters I-III:  John Locke's State of Nature and State of War 

Posts on Chapters IV-V:  On the Achilles Heel of John Locke's Second Treatise: Slavery and Land Ownership

Posts on Chapters VI-VII : John Locke Against Natural Hierarchy

Links to posts on later chapters so far:

Chapter XII: Of the Legislative, Executive, and Federative Power of the Commonwealth

• John Locke on Why the Executive and Legislative Power Should Be Separated, but the Executive and Foreign Policy Power Should Be Combined

Chapter XIII: Of the Subordination of the Powers of the Commonwealth

• John Locke on the Supremacy of the People, the Supremacy of the Legislature over the Executive, and the Power of the Executive to Deal with Rotten Boroughs

Chapter XIV: Of Prerogative

• Getting Away with Doing Good

Chapter XV: Of Paternal, Political, and Despotical Power, considered together

• On Despotism

Chapter XVI: Of Conquest

• An Unjust War Cannot Win Any True Right to Rule

• Even a Just War Cannot Make It Right to Govern without the Consent of the Governed or to Dispossess Those in Conquered Territory

Chapter XVII: Of Usurpation

• Usurpation is a Kind of Domestic Conquest, with this Difference, that an Usurper Can Never Have Right on His Side

Chapter XVIII: Of Tyranny

• How to Recognize a Tyrant

• How to Resist Tyrants without Causing Anarchy

Chapter XIX: Of the Dissolution of Government

• The Obligation to Obey the Law Does Not Apply to Laws Promulgated by Invaders and Usurpers Who Do Not Have the Consent of the Governed

• John Locke on Monarchs (Or Presidents) Who Destroy a Constitution

• The People Have the Right to Erect a New Government When the Previous Government Betrays the Trust It Has Been Given

• John Locke: Bad Rulers May Be Removed

• Governments Long Established Should Not—and to a Good Approximation Will Not—Be Changed for Light and Transient Causes

• John Locke: If Rebellion is a Sin, It is a Sin Committed Most Often by Those in Power

• John Locke on Peace through Surrender to Tyranny

• Even Monarchists Admit there are Some Circumstances When It is Appropriate to Rise Up Against a King

• John Locke: The People are the Judge of the Rulers