Very helpful for UG/PG students about John Locke General Introduction; Natural Law and Natural rights; Views on Human Nature; Views on State of Nature; Views on Law of Nature; Views on Social Contract; Features of Social Contract; Views on State

1. •General Introduction
•Natural Law and Natural rights
•Views on Human Nature
•Views on State of Nature
•Views on Law of Nature
•Views on Social Contract
•Features of Social Contract
•Views on State
By: Dr Md Nazeer Hussain
Dept of Pol Sc, USTM

2. General Introduction
 One of the most influential Political Philosophers of
the modern period
 In his famous work “Two Treatises of Government”
defended the claim
That
 “Men are by nature free and equal”
Against the claim that
 God had made all people naturally subject to a
Monarch

3.  Favoured that people have rights, such as the right to
life, liberty, and property
Irrespective
of the laws of any particular society
 Supported legitimate political government as the
result of Social Contract
 In State of Nature, people conditionally transfer some
of their rights to the Govt

4.  Govt has to better ensure the stable and comfortable
enjoyment of life, liberty, and property
 Existence of Govt Consent of the people
For What?
 To protect the rights of the people
 To promote the public good

5.  If the Govt fails to discharge the duties
Can be resisted and replaced with new governments
Thus Locke also defends the Right of Revolution
 Supports the majority rule and separation of legislative
and executive powers

6.  Locke denied that:
Coercion should be used to bring people to (what the
ruler believes is) the true religion
Churches should have any coercive power over their
members
Thus Locke came in conflict with the established
supremacy of the Church.

7. Natural Law and Natural Rights
 Central theme of Locke’s Political Philosophy
 Concept of Natural Law Existed long before Locke
Means certain moral truth applicable to all regardless of
place and agreement
 Natural Law distinct from:
 Conventional Laws: Operated only in those places where
the particular convention had been established

8.  Divine Laws: Revealed by God and applicable to those
bound by it
Natural Law and Divine Law can overlap in contents but are not
coextensive
 Century before Locke, the language of Natural rights
also gained prominence
• Whereas natural laws emphasized on duties;
• Natural rights normally emphasized on privileges and
claims of an individuals

9.  Deferring views on Natural Laws and Rights:
 Some believe that Locke has emphasized more on rights
than duties
 Others believe that more emphasis is over duties than
rights
 As right to life, liberty, and property also signifies the duties
not to kill, enslave, and steal
Furthermore, Locke never provided the specific
content of Natural Law what it requires

10. Views on Human Nature
 No systematic views on human nature by Locke
 Views collected from his Essay and Second Treatise
 Human beings are decent
 Capable with natural social makeup
 Peace loving
 Don’t quarrel with each other
 Not always selfish

11.  Locke also believes:
 Human beings are equal in moral sense
 Enjoy definite Natural Rights like right to life, liberty,
property
Locke’s views are completely different from Hobbes
 But he also fails to give scientific reasons like Hobbes

12. Views on State of Nature
 Extension of his logical thought of human nature
 Not as the State of War against each other
 Believed that it is a period of
 peace,
 good-will,
 mutual assistance, and
 preservation
 Not a pre-social but a pre-political condition
 Not for the war but for peace

13. Views on Law of Nature
 An important place in his thoughts
 Believed that:
 It governs the life of men and civil society
 Refrain men from conquering each other’s rights
 It is observed and the execution depends upon the
community members
 Member has the right to punish the offender

14. Views on Social Contract
 No logical answer; why Social Contract?
 Believed that:
 The deficits in the law of nature make the man to leave the
State of Nature
 Get into an agreement for the formation of the state
 What were the deficiencies?
 lack of an established, settled and known law
 each individual understood by his way that lead to
misunderstanding
 lack of an executive organ to enforce a just decision

15. Features of Social Contract
 This is a contract of each with all
 Individual decided to surrender to the community as a
whole
 Right to understand the law of nature
 Unlike Hobbes; only certain powers to
community/sovereign
 Sovereign as a party to the contract
 Confined by the understanding of Natural law as members
 No absolute powers to Monarch because Monarch hurt
from the touch of love

16.  Also believed that:
 contract is undisputed
 men have freedom and independence in the state of nature
 nobody can force to join the politics against his will
 based on approval of the people
Contract is irrevocable, once the people enter the
contract means they cannot reverse it except by the
government

17. Views on State
 Quite different from that of Hobbes
 Hobbes - as a requirement to guard the life of
individual and gave absolute powers to it
 Locke – deficiencies in law of nature; to remove some
suspicions; different ways of thought
 State to have three types of powers: legislative, executive and
federative
 Legislative powers are most vital and elected it as “Supreme
power of the Commonwealth”

18.  Supreme powers to legislature but not absolute powers
 Relation between community and government lies with trust
between each other
 Executive:
 Consist of judicial power
 Very important for the government to run
 Subordinate position limited by the legislative power
 Separated the powers of legislative and executive
 Apples for constitutional or limited government as
against the absolute rule.