In the Two Treatises of Government, Locke regards the right to charity as a natural right. This right allows a needy person to obtain from the surplus of a rich manʼs property the goods which are necessary for the preservation of his own life. The right to charity is a means to realizing the right of subsistence. Locke defines the right to charity as an imperfect right, or the kind of right which cannot be enforced. The idea of common charity, however, can be so utilized as to support the view that in case of necessity, political power could transfer goods from the rich to the poor.
