John Locke’s Treatise

on Government
 Overview
• Who was John Locke?
• What was Locke’s view of man in
the state of nature?
• What was the social contract
according to Locke?
• What were Locke’s ideas
concerning government?
 John Locke (1632-1704)
 Physician and Political Philosopher
 Affiliated with the Whig party
 Wrote in reaction to the revolutions
following Cromwellian England
 Famous works:
Essay Concerning Human
Understanding
Two Treatises of Civil Government
 Human Nature
 Men possess 3 natural rights:
1. The right to life
2. The right to liberty and
equality
3. The right to own the fruits of
their labor (Property)
 The State of Nature
• In the state of nature, men
enjoy absolute liberty.
• There exists an underlying
“natural law” that ensures men
can enjoy this liberty
–i.e. that man ought not to harm
his fellows or their property
 The State of Nature (again)

• Thus, men judge for themselves

how to use their own rights
–Naturally, this means that men
can come into conflict
• Under such conditions, men’s
natural rights end up abused
• Hence properties are not secure
 Civil Society
Society arises because men seek
to leave the state of nature
To do so, they surrender their
freedoms (rights) to a power that
will preserve their property
That power is also charged with
punishing offenses against rights
 Civil Society (cont’d)

Civilsociety is a political
society
The surrendering of freedoms to
a higher power offers the political
character
The right to have the laws of civil
society enforced provides the civil
character
 Civil Society (yikes!)
• Civil society is a society of laws
• Laws enhance human freedom and
preserve property
–The bias is that these laws must
preserve as much of man’s natural
freedom as possible.
• The creation of civil society is the nature
of the social contract
 Social Contract
• The social contract creates a
commonwealth for the people
–Establishment of laws
–Designation of a supreme power
• By virtue of the contract, “majority
wins”
• The contract entails consent
 Commonwealth
Men surrender their freedoms to
enjoy them more securely
Hence, the commonwealth is
charged with the preservation of
property through laws
Thus legislative power must be
supreme in the commonwealth
 Limitations
 Laws must always be directed
towards the common good
The legislature can only operate
according to standing laws and
authorized officials
Nobody, not even the rulers, is
above the law.
 Limitations (more)
The legislature may not deprive a
person of property without his/her
consent
Principle of non-delegation of
powers
 Separation between legislative
and executive functions
 “People Power”
Legislative power (etc.) is only
fiduciary power for specific ends
People still possess the power to
remove or alter the legislature
Abusive rulers command no
allegiance over their subjects