JOHN LOCKE (1632- 1704) Flashcards
‘TOLERATION’ - 1689
Contrast to Hobbes (religion is decided and controlled by the state)
Locke = freedom of belief/ personal choice
‘cannot be compelled into belief through violence’
THE TWO TREATISES OF GOVERNMENT (1689)
- Places sovereignty into the hands of the people.
- Fundamental argument = people are equal and invested with NATURAL RIGHTS (incl right to private prop) in a state of nature in which they live free from outside rule.
Can we live without a government?
It would be possible to live an acceptable life even in the absence of government BUT
- The abundance of land Locke describes in his S of N will eventually become scarce and there will be a need to establish a government.
S of N to Civil society
= ‘each individual giving up the executive power of the law of nature to the community’
STATE OF NATURE
State of:
1) Freedom
2) Equality
3) Bound by Law of Nature
CONTRAST TO HOBBES
- no person has a natural right to subordinate over any other
- Mankind is to be preserved as much as possible (not harm others in S of N)
Right to private property?
2 treatises of government 1689
‘Every man has property in his person’
The right of private property exists in the S of N prior to the formation of the state.
- This marks a limit of legitimate political authority.
CONTRAST TO HOBBES arguing ‘all goods are scarce’. Locke sees a ‘natural abundance of land’ and plenty of room for everyone.
Locke on COLONIALISM
Co-wrote ‘fundamental constitutions of Carolina 1669’ - promoted slavery
-Due to his ‘labour mixing’ theory of value
= if a person ‘own’s themselves, they ‘own’ the actions they perform with their bodies (including labour)
- When we mix our labour with an ‘unowned’ thing eg land we acquire a property right in it
THIS LOGIC used for Native Americans
= viewed their land as ‘unowned’ as they had not ‘mixed their labour with it’ - they had no right to the land.
LOCKE’S SOCIAL CONTRACT
1) people come together to form a ‘community’
2) this community decides upon a government (by majority vote)
- Any kind of gov can be chosen (monarchy/ democracy)
CONTRAST TO HOBBESIAN TOTALITARIAN POWER
It is with the PEOPLE where the political authority rests. The people are within their rights to:
1) withdraw their consent
2) overthrow their ruler
3) set up a new government
(basically, if the conditions are broken by the ruler, the people can take back power)
Quote by Hampton (1996)
While Hobbes views the people as SURRENDERING their power to the ruler, Locke views them as LOANING their power to the ruler.
LOCKE on PATRIARCHY
Supports the public/ private divide
‘the father alone can send its (the family’s) interests into wider society’
‘The inferior ability of a woman gives the absolute rule of the family to a man’ (2nd treatise of gov 1689)
How does political theory contradict patriarchy (similar to Hobbes?)
(Eisenstein, 1993)
He uses parental equality to combat absolutism in the political realm (gives mother legislative power over the children if just the father dies) .
contradicts this by justifying women’s subordination in the private sphere. He argues ‘the inferior abilities of women gives the absolute rule of the family to a man’
“opens up the conception of individuality
for women [but] he does not follow through on this potential’
Okin (1992)
Women do not possess natural rights
‘Similar to Hobbes, the fundamental subject matter of Locke’s philosophy is not, as it first appears, the human individual, but the male-headed family’
‘they are willing to use ‘nature’ to legitimise patriarchal theory when it does not suit their case, or the prejudices of the time to promote women’s equality.’
Did Locke reject patriarchy?
did not reject patriarchy, but sought to establish a few form within the framework of capitalist market relations
= a ‘private patriarchy’ separate from the state
How did he define men and women?
Men were defined as persons with the individual market and political potentials,
women were defined as members of a biological “sex-class” with sexual and familial functions.
How did he see family and the state?
State = social construct Family = Natural institution
Locke never questioned whether it was natural for men to control property but accepted the patriarchal family as a given.
