Political Philosophy Flashcards
The institutions of government
The State
A community of citizens linked by common interests and collective activity
Everything other than government and business
Civil Society
The State of Nature
- What humans would be like before society or government
- Supposed to reveal human nature, what humans do when left to their own devices
- May or may not be something that humans were actually like at some point
Hobbes’ account of the state of nature
- All humans are more or less equal in faculties of mind and body
- With equal ability comes equal hope to achieve ends or goals
- This leads to conflict, as fulfilling one person’s ends or goals often means not fulfilling another’s
With equal ability comes equal hope to achieve ends or goals
- Everyone has, or thinks they have, equal chance of getting what they want
- This leads to conflict, as fulfilling one person’s ends or goals often means not fulfilling another’s
- The best way to gain security is to control as many other people as you can, so they don’t have enough power to be a danger to you
- Some are greedy, will want more power than they need, so
Some are greedy, will want more power than they need, so
- Leads to control over others being necessary for survival
All humans are more or less equal in faculties of mind and body
- Everything taken together, every person is an equal threat to the others
- Even the weakest can kill the strongest, by wits or number
Hobbes’ viewpoints of the state of nature
- A constant state of war of all against all
- No security
- No society
- No justice or injustice, no right or wrong
Reason forbids people from doing what is destructive to their life, or what takes away means of preserving their life
The Law of Nature
The freedom of each person to use their power however they judge necessary to preserve their life, and do anything they judge by reason is the best method to preserve their life
The Right of Nature
The law and the right of nature lead humans to leave the state of nature and form government
- People want to make peace because they are afraid of dying, so they are willing to do what is necessary to achieve survival and pleasant living
- This includes giving up certain freedoms
- Establishing peace requires government, and that requires a social contract
Why leave the state of nature
The law and the right of nature lead humans to leave the state of nature and form government
Contracts:
- An agreement to the mutual transfer of a right
- Can be done expressly or by inference, but must involve a clear sign of transfer
- Must be made with genuine and honest intent to fulfill the government
“a multitude united in one person”
A common power, which keeps everyone in line because of fear of punishment if their authority is not followed
A form of government
Commonwealth
A common power, which keeps everyone in line because of fear of punishment if their authority is not followed
- Necessary, because our natural passions push against the laws of nature
A form of government
- Hobbes thought this should be an absolute monarchy
Locke’s account of the state of nature
A state of perfect freedom, where you can act and do with your belongings whatever you want within the law of nature
A state of perfect freedom, where you can act and do with your belongings whatever you want within the law of nature
- A state of equality
Everything is just determined by your faculties, capacities, and abilities
All power is reciprocal
No one has more power than another
There is no subordination or subjection
A state of equality
Locke’s the law of nature
- Reason governs the state of nature
- Reason tells us that because all are equal, “no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions”
- No one has the right to destroy or control anyone else
- Everyone is required to preserve their self (to do what you can to keep yourself alive)
- As long as your own life is not at risk, you ought to do what you can to preserve the rest of humanity
As long as your own life is not at risk, you ought to do what you can to preserve the rest of humanity
- If you want to survive and flourish, reason tells us that others like you (other rational beings) will want the same
Punishment
- In the state of nature, everyone is responsible for carrying out the law of nature
- Everyone has the right to punish those who violate the law of nature, in proportion to their violation
- Punishment must be done following calm, rational thought and proportionality
- When someone breaks the law of nature, that person shows they are no longer following reason and the common equity, so they are a danger to all humans
Everyone has the right to punish those who violate the law of nature, in proportion to their violation
- If no one enforces a law, it would be pointless
Punishment must be done following calm, rational thought and proportionality
- Punishment can only be rationally justified if its purpose is reparation (making it up to the victim) and restraint (stopping them from doing it again)
When someone breaks the law of nature, that person shows they are no longer following reason and the common equity, so they are a danger to all humans
- That danger has to be removed
The State of War
- One person declares the intent to take another person’s life, or to gain absolute power of the other
- Other people will then come to the defense of the one who’s life is threatened, according to the law of nature
- With no neutral arbitrator, conflict will continue to build, with people joining each site
One person declares the intent to take another person’s life, or to gain absolute power of the other
- If someone wants power over me without my consent, I can reasonably assume they want to do something I won’t like
Other people will then come to the defense of the one who’s life is threatened, according to the law of nature
- We should always defend the innocent first in the preservation of human kind
With no neutral arbitrator, conflict will continue to build, with people joining each site
- Hard to end once it has begun
Property
- All the world is given to humans in common, shared, for everyone to use
- Each individual only owns their person, and their labor
- An individual can gain ownership over a portion of the rest of the world if they mix their labor with it
- The amount you own is limited by what you can use
An individual can gain ownership over a portion of the rest of the world if they mix their labor with it
Example: farming the land, the food that grows is yours because you put in the work to make it grow
The amount you own is limited by what you can use
- You cannot take so much that it spoils
- You have to leave enough of similar things for others
Why form civil society and government?
- When it comes to punishment for breaking the law of nature, people are unlikely to be calm, objection, and partial
- Government is needed as an objective arbitrator
When it comes to punishment for breaking the law of nature, people are unlikely to be calm, objection, and partial
- They will be lenient towards themselves and those they care about
- They will punish those who harm themselves and those they care about too harshly, because of passion and revenge
Government is needed as an objective arbitrator
- Decide conflicts without preferential treatment
- Deal punishment equally
Consent
- Express Consent
- Tacit Consent
Express Consent
Explicit agreement, like applying for citizenship
Tacit Consent
Implicit agreement through other action, like owning property or using services
Jean Jacques Rousseau’s account of the state of nature
- Humans were in a state of equal, primitive independence
- All people are born equal
- There were no stable, consistent relations between them
- The nature of humans is common freedom, and it is not given up without getting something in return
- Family is the only natural society
Family is the only natural society
- Men and women come together to reproduce, but once children are self-sufficient, people only remain together voluntarily and by agreement
Legitimate authority
- Political authority is only legitimate if it is based on agreement
Political authority is only legitimate if it is based on agreement
- Legitimate authority is the only kind of authority we are morally obligated to obey
- Authority based on strength and force is not legitimate
- Authority based on giving up all freedom like a slave to a master is also not legitimate
Why create civil society
- Moving away from the state of nature
Civil society changes humans
- From being ruled by instinct to ruled by morality and justice
- From consulting inclination to using reason and principles
Key Points of Rousseau’s Social Contract
1, All humans are equal
- The state of nature is a state of mutual independence and indifference
- The need for security is what leads to the creation of society and government
- Social is a contract between individuals, rationally giving up some freedoms and rights in exchange for protection
All three theories agree that we need government because it
- Takes us out of the state of nature, which is unpleasant and unsustainable
- To provide security, arbitration, and the goods of cooperation
