The phrase “life, liberty, and property” is most famously associated with the English philosopher John Locke.

Who said “life, liberty, and property”?

  • John Locke used a very similar formulation when he wrote that people have natural rights to “life, liberty, and estate,” with “estate” meaning property.
  • This appears in his 1689 work Two Treatises of Government , where he argues that political society exists to protect these natural rights.

Connection to the U.S. founding

  • Thomas Jefferson later adapted Locke’s idea in the U.S. Declaration of Independence, changing it to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
  • Many historians view Jefferson’s wording as a modification of Locke’s original “life, liberty, and property” framework.

TL;DR: When people quote “life, liberty, and property,” they are usually referring back to John Locke’s natural-rights philosophy.

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