John Locke 10 August 2019 12:16 Major books © The Two treatise on Goverment (Masterpiece) © Letters on Toleration # Essays on Law of nature Major Theories * Ciiticiem of Filmes * Social Contsact theory © State of Natuse © Theory of Natural Rights © Teams of Contract Ideas on Political obligation Ideas on Tolesation Ideas on Propesty sights Criticism of Filmer * Filmer Book "Patriacha") argued that Patsiaschal authosity was absolute and political authosity was similar to Parental authosity. He considered Adam as the Ist father as well as Ist king and the present kings detived their authosity from god's original grant to Adam ‘which was unconditional and unlimited authosity. * Filmer also ciiticised Conteactualist on two grounds © [all authority is based on consent, then an individual who had not consented. (Minosities, non-votess including women and children) need not obey the law. © The future generation was not bound to obey the laws consented to by their forefathers. [fit were so, then such an argument did not differ from the one given by Patsiachist. If this generation refused to accept the original consent, it would make society unstable © In the First Treatise, Locke rejected Filmer's argument on following grounds © God did not give relevant power to Adam in the fisst place and even ifhe assume so it is difficult to discover any clear rule of succession as well as identifying the actual successoss of Adam Locke considered Family as a natural institution while the State is a contractual institution. The authosity of the State is different from that of the Father. The subjects are not dependent on the State the way children ate dependent on their patents. Also, these is a difference in honousing parents and obliging the State For Filmes, Parental authosity was divine, natural and unlimited while Locke separated Family life from Political authosity In view of Locke, Honousing parents as well as obeying the State were both. conditional on the petformance of sespective functions by both the parents as well as the State. And in case of theis failuse to do so, the sespective honour and obedience could be revoked So Locke rejected absolute and unconditional obedience and sespect whether towards the State or towards the Parents. Also, he argued that in a family, the mother has equal claim over the childsen like father © So, For Locke, while Parental authosity was natutal, Political authority was conteactual In sesponse to Filmer's cuiticism of Contractualism, Locke added the concept of initial as well as continuing consent. This way the successive genesation was free ° ° ° °to seview the consent given by the eatlier genesations and they could even revoke it too. * Locke has said that men and women were equal in State of nature. Women have equal claim over children and over any propesty she has mixed her labour He said that marsiage is a contract and if women ate not happy she can walk out of contsact. Locke agreed wath, Filmer's view that women are physically weak and subordinate to men and by mastiage they agreed to their subordination. So, Locke is not a absolute feminist Social Contract Theory Locke advocated a limited sovereign state which existed for the people who formedit and it had to be based on the consent of the people. The State was subject to the constitution and the Rule of law and was also limited by natural laws and individual sights. In his view, Political authority was a trust and its power were derived from the people. State of Nature State of nature is a hypothetical concept to show the state of human life in the absence of common authority or a state. It is shaped by Human nature Locke's State of nature is a state of peace, goodwill and mutual assistance Locke's description of human natuse was influenced by the Glosious revolution. Locke descsibed human being as equal, rational and social in chasacter So the reason in man teaches him not to harm other pesson and thus, it was possible to live in the state of Peace. The individual was naturally free and become political subject out of free choice, Even after the establishment of a political society, the individual retained a private sphere where he pussued his activities and aspirations This dichotomy between the State and society, between the private and public, was fundamental to Locke's theorizing ‘Theory of Natural Rights ‘Man enjoyed natusal sights in State of natuse and out of all natural sights, the three impostant ate Right to life, libesty and property. The laws of nature were knoum to human beings through the power of Reason, which cisected them towards their "Proper interests". Liberty, for Locke, was not freedom to do what one chose, but to act within the bounds of laus of nature. Laws of nature are those that ceason dictated Freedom presupposed order and was possible only vithin a framework of lav "Where there is no lav, there is no freedom." Locke explicitly sejected the sight of the individual to commit suicide and murder ‘Teams of Contract Locke explained that there wese certain inconveniences in the state of nature. These were Man has Passion and there is no guarantee that Passion will not overcome reason. # In absence of common authosity in State of nature, People were judge in their own case * Absence of executive power to enforce just decisions ‘Through contract, people consented to submit to majority mule and organize themselves as a community or civil society. Locke formed two conteact 1. Ast contuact: Fosmation of civil society. Civil society is a very impostant concept in the liberal discousse. Institutions excluding govemment and family kinship comes under civil society. Civil society is a formal sphere of life and thus, Men gave formal recognition to each others sights through Ist contract 2. 2nd Contract: Creation of the State/ Goverment. Govemment has 3 branches: i Legislature ii Executive ii Judiciary People have not transferred all of their sights to the government. They have transferred only 3 natural sights-1. Right to make law 2. Right to execute law 3. Right to adjudicate law People have unlimited sights and the govemment has limited tights. Locke was the first to argue that the state dealt with matters strictly political in nature and had no sight to interfere in non-political domains. He categorically asse:ted that supreme power resided in the people and people as a community had inalienable sight to form a government, assess its actions pesiodically and dismiss the government if it did not fulfil its task. So, the political obligation of the people towards government was conditional and not absolute like Hobbes Unlike Hobbes, Locke did not agree that revocation of consent would lead to a retum to state of nature. He assumed the existence of a vibrant economy and civil society prior to creation of any government. This way he made civil society independent of political authosity and emphasised on the need to separate private from political public sphere. This argument later became comerstone of liberalism. Political obligation Locke asserted that men became political subject only by their consent. Without consent there ‘wns no political authosity. Locke speak of two kinds of consent: 1. Express or disect consent: Explicit commitment given at the time when the commonwealth was instituted 2. Tacit Consent: Minosity consent. But the problem with regard to tacit consent was to define it. ‘The obligation to obey the govemment would depend on the fat that public power was used for "Peace, safety and public good of the people”. Moreover, individual would not give to the government more power than what they actually possessed in the State of nature. There ‘uns sational and limited agreement which assured obedience for the preservation & enhancement of life, libesty and property. The validity of the consent would depend on the continuation of these bene its Locke categosically assested that govt. can be altered, amended, changed or dissolved legitimately. He clarified that people could use force only against unjust and unlawful authority that too can be exercised by majority only and not by any small group. He assested that people should use revolution only to result into a better social order and that they should not sesoxt to it for "every little mismanagement in public affaiss" or for tsivial causes In opinion of Wolin, unlike easlier philosophers who were concemed with the issue of what type of political order is required for maintenance of society, Locke tumed the question around and his main concem was what social agreement wall ensure the continuity of govemment Conditions for revolution ‘© Asbitzary wall in place of lave ‘* Hinder the legislature from assembling or wotking propedly ‘* Elections or the way of elections ate altered vathout consent ‘Actions zesult in foreign subjugation ‘Neglect enacted lava Ideas on Tolesation In his essay titled "\A letter concerning Toleration", Locke defended religious toleration and pluralism. Locke suggested that State should follow the policy of toleration towarck the persons following cifferent religion. Unlike Hobbes, who bsings even religious matter under the State, Locke wants to keep religious matters outside the scope of the State According to Locke, State should leave men fiee in teligious matters. As far as religion is, concemed man should have complete freedom because in mattess of soul, God does not appointmagistrate. These is no point using force because force can compel people to obey the State but it cannot force people to change their beliefs. He stressed that each individual was fully sesponsible for his beliefs and would have to answer god on the day of judgement ‘Though Locke suggest State to be tolerant towarch people having faith in different religions but he does not suggest tolesation towards Atheists because Atheists could not be tnusted Idea on Propesty Rights Locke pointed out that by human reason and by sevelation it was apparent that the eaith and its fmits belonged to god, and that god had given them to the human inhabitants in common to enjoy. Moreover, he also argued that it was human labour which distinguished what was pavately oumed from what was commonly held Locke considered that labour was the unquestioned property of the labourer and it not only created the property but also determined its value Unlike easlier philosophers, he believed in abundance and thus rejected the problem of limited resources and unlimited desires. In his view, Property was a natusal sight desived from natural Inw and therefore prior to the govt He defended the entitlements / propesty which were directly acquited through one’s labour and no goverment could depsive an individual of his matesial possession without the latter's consent. Also, no taxes could be imposed without individual's consent otherwise it encroached the individual's fundamental sights to propesty and subverted the ends of the govemment. The Amesican slogan "No Taxation without representation" dsing the Boston pasty wns typically Lockean in spisit and content. It was social character of the property that enabled Locke to defend a minimal state vith limited govemment and individual sights and sejected outuight the heteditary principle of govemment. But Locke was silent on the issue of inheritance Conclusion Locke's chief contsibution was that in championing the individual freedom and expansion of democracy even before inauguration of the age of democracy. He expressed faith in the ordinary people when he considered the right to rebellion, making people the ultimate and final judge of the govemment actions. He was also the fist modem exponent of the doctrine of civil society. His emphasis on Constitutionalism, Consent and Toleration have been integral components of modem political theory. He established the society of the incivicual by making a case for both natural and political equality Previous Year questions A. "The great and chief end of men uniting into commonvrealth and putting themselves under goverment is preservation and protection of their propesty." (Locke) Comment. (250 words Q Cement on the assestion of Laslett that Filmer and not Hobbes was the main antagonist of Locke. (200 words) Q Locke's State of nature was Pre-Political but not Pre-Social while Hobbes’ State of natuse ‘was Pre-Political and Pre-Social. Comment. (200 words)