Two Treatises of Government is a 1689 work of political philosophy by John Locke that argues against monarchy and for a more democratic government. The first treatise is a refutation of Robert Filmer's Patriarcha, a work that defended the idea of patriarchalism, the notion that monarchs are divinely-chosen and should act with absolute power, like fathers towards their subjects. In the second treatise, Locke outlines a theory of society's origins, arguing that men are created equal and that any government that does not acknowledge natural rights may be overthrown.