John Locke Flashcards
john locke dates
1632-1704
his works
two treaties of government
1690
what type of liberal is Locke
classical liberal
what was Locke’s most important contribution to classical liberalism
human nature and the type of state we should have
what ideas did Locke reject
that state was part of god’s creation
monarch’s should have a divine right
people were subjects of the state
how would locke desrcibe a true state?
created by man to serve man’s interest
but only when they had the ‘consent’ of the people who would be governed by it
what did Locke believe came before the state
‘natural society’ called the state of nature
this was guided by rationalism
what are the three things which underpinned the ‘state of nature’
natural laws, natural rights, natural liberties
give an example of a ‘natural’ right
right to property
according to locke, did people want to leave the state of nature
no
meaning the ‘state of law’ was only there to improve on the natural society e.g by resovling issues more efficiently
what would make the state of law legitimate
if it respected natural rights and natural laws
what is Lockes social contract theory
state would always reflect the principle that citizens had voluntarily consented to the states ruling
these would help improve their situation
in practice how would the ‘contractual nature’ of the theory of the state look
seperation of powers
limited gov so
always representing views of the governed
human nature summary
rational
guided by self interest
mindful of others concerns
the state summary
representative
based on gov by consent
