[Paper 1] Modern Western Political Thought – John Locke (1632-1704)

Introduction

John Locke (1632–1704) is widely known as the father of liberalism and a key figure in shaping the foundations of modern political philosophy. His ideas on natural rights, limited government, and the separation of powers have strongly influenced political systems across the world. Born in England during a time of civil unrest, Locke witnessed the transformation of governance from absolute monarchy to parliamentary democracy. His philosophies not only questioned existing norms but also provided alternative frameworks that emphasized individual liberty, property rights, and toleration. This article explores his life, theories, and lasting impact.

Introduction and Life Sketch

• John Locke was born in England in 1632. He joined Christ Church College at the University of Oxford in 1652, where he began teaching after earning his degree.
• Locke grew up during a time when the English Civil War had recently ended. Though peace had returned, the ongoing struggle between the monarchy and Parliament shaped Locke’s political perspective.
• This period witnessed the Glorious Revolution of 1689, a key event that marked the rise of parliamentary democracy and laid the foundation for Locke’s thoughts.
• He is often called the father of liberalism, initiating the movement through his ideas on natural rights and limited state power.
• Locke believed that political liberalism should limit state authority and protect the rights of citizens. His work on toleration argued for the freedom of conscience and religion, sharply criticizing hereditary monarchy and patriarchalism.
• Regarded as one of the most persuasive thinkers of the Enlightenment, Locke was not only a philosopher but also a physician and a scholar representing the bourgeois or capitalist class.
• He is recognized as the originator of modern empiricism, along with Hume, J.S. Mill, and Russell, and considered the father of modern political science.
• Locke’s contributions were crucial to the social contract theory and had a major influence on Voltaire, Rousseau, Scottish Enlightenment thinkers, and even American revolutionaries.
• In his youth, Locke held conservative views, supporting absolute monarchy and religious uniformity, as shown in his early work Two Tracts of Government.
• However, his views changed after his association with Shaftesbury, resulting in a shift seen in his Essay on Toleration (1667).
• His major works were written and published in the later part of his life and form the backbone of modern liberal philosophy.

Locke’s Criticism of Filmer

• Locke strongly rejected Sir Robert Filmer’s claim that the state was created by God as outlined in the “Adam’s theory”.
• According to Filmer, God created Adam, and from him descended all royal authority; Locke dismissed this, seeking a new basis for state authority.
• He rejected the absolute authority of the state and opposed the comparison between the state and the family.
• Locke argued that a state is not a family, but rather a collection of families, and that citizens are adults, not children who are completely dependent on the head (father/king).
• The father’s authority, Locke explained, is absolute within a family due to the dependence of children, but citizens are independent in most respects and thus should not be ruled with absolute power.
• This critique of Filmer was central to Locke’s argument for a limited government based on consent, not divine right or patriarchal control.

Views of Locke on Human Nature and State of Nature

• Locke offered a balanced view of human nature, countering Hobbes’ pessimistic outlook. He emphasized enlightened self-interest, where individuals could be self-centered but still capable of considering others’ interests.
• He believed that human nature includes reason, passion, and tolerance, enabling people to live together peacefully if they respected each other’s life, liberty, and possessions.
• He emphasized that reason teaches equality and independence, guiding individuals not to harm others in their life, health, liberty, or property.
• His idea led to the principle of ‘just war’, which must include:
  • A just cause
  • Use as a last resort
  • Declaration by proper authority
  • Right intention
  • A reasonable chance of success
  • The proportionality of ends and means
• According to Locke, the state of nature is a condition of freedom, equality, peace, goodwill, and mutual assistance, not a state of license or chaos.
• It is governed by the law of nature, driven by reason, which allows humans to live without constant conflict.
• However, the state of nature is fragile and can devolve into a state of war if natural law is violated.
• Locke described this state not as miserable, but as a starting point of equality and liberty, from which civil society develops.
• Each individual is their own judge and enforcer of natural law, including punishment for its violation.
• He emphasized that no one has the right to destroy themselves or others, and every person possesses executive power to uphold the law of nature.
• However, William Ebenstein pointed out three limitations in Locke’s state of nature in Great Political Thinkers:
  • First: The law of nature is unclear due to individual bias.
  • Second: There is no impartial judge to resolve disputes.
  • Third: The injured party may lack the strength to enforce the law.

Social Contract and Limited Government

• To resolve the inconveniences of the state of nature, Locke proposed the idea of a social contract.
• According to Locke, people voluntarily formed a civil society, creating a state not by divine authority but as a contractual arrangement.
• The first contract formed society, and the second contract created government by transferring enforcement powers to an impartial authority.
• The government’s legislative powers must serve the common good, preserving freedom and protecting property.
• This social contract implies that the state has limited powers and exists only with the consent of the governed.
• He introduced the concept of government by consent, including the idea of elected representatives and majority rule.
• Government powers are delegated, not original; it cannot act independently of the people’s will.
• Locke distinguished between:
  • Explicit will (clearly stated consent)
  • Tacit will (implied consent by participating in society)
• The powers of government are limited by fundamental rights, meaning it cannot:
  • Override life, liberty, or property
  • Exercise unlimited control
• He asserted that the people retain the right to resist or revolt if the state breaches its fiduciary trust, marking a foundation for liberal democratic systems.

Natural Rights and Right to Property

• John Locke was the first philosopher to clearly propose the theory of natural rights, which later became the foundation of fundamental human rights.
• According to him, natural rights are given by nature or God, and not by the state; hence, the state cannot take them away without the consent of the individual.
• He famously said, “No law, no liberty,” emphasizing that natural law or reason is the ultimate safeguard for liberty.
• These inalienable, incommunicable, and inviolable rights include:
  • Right to life
  • Right to liberty
  • Right to property
  • Right to freedom
• Locke argued that any violation of these rights by the state is a breach of fiduciary trust and justifies resistance or rebellion.
• Natural rights, in Locke’s view, are:
  • More meaningful than vague ethical ideals
  • Concrete and effective
  • Supported by natural obligation—a moral duty to respect others’ rights
• The primary responsibility of government, therefore, is to protect these rights by staying within the bounds of limited power.
• Locke placed a special emphasis on the right to property, stating: “The sole purpose for the formation of commonwealth is the protection of property.”
• Property is created when a person mixes their labor with natural resources. Initially, the earth’s resources were held in common, but that was insufficient to fulfill human needs.
• He believed that:
  • Common ownership was impractical because it could not satisfy individual requirements.
  • Industrious and enterprising people naturally claimed more property than the lazy or idle.
  • He took a utilitarian approach, stating that nature provides resources (like apples, milk, meat) to be used and not wasted.
• However, Locke did not support unlimited appropriation of property. He introduced three key limitations:
  • Labor limitation: Property is justified only when created by mixing one’s labor with natural resources.
  • Spoilage limitation: One should acquire only what one can use without spoilage, since nothing was made by God to be wasted.
  • Sufficiency limitation: One must leave enough and as good for others, ensuring fair access to resources.

Toleration

• Locke was a strong advocate of religious toleration, believing that the state should not interfere with an individual’s conscience or faith.
• He argued that conscience is internal and personal, and therefore, beyond external control.
• He recommended that the state adopt the principle of toleration toward people of different religions, except for atheists.
• According to Locke:
  • Religion should be left to individual choice.
  • No single religion should be imposed by the state.
  • Freedom of worship is a natural right.
• However, Locke excluded atheists from this principle. He believed that since atheists do not believe in divine accountability, they cannot be trusted to uphold moral obligations. Hence, he suggested the state should not tolerate atheists and should expel them if necessary.
• While this exclusion is criticized today, in his time, Locke’s views were progressive, especially when compared to the religious intolerance and persecution that dominated Europe.

Comparison of Hobbes and Locke

• Thomas Hobbes and John Locke both developed theories around the state of nature, social contract, and government, but their views diverge sharply.
• On the state of nature:
  • Hobbes believed it was a condition of war of all against all, marked by violence, fear, and chaos, where life was “nasty, brutish, and short”.
  • Locke, in contrast, saw it as a state of peace, freedom, and equality, governed by natural law. Conflict was possible but not the default.
• On the social contract:
  • Hobbes argued for a contract to surrender all rights to a sovereign, leading to an absolute monarchy to avoid anarchy.
  • Locke proposed a limited contract, where individuals transferred only specific rights (like enforcement of law) to the state but retained their natural rights.
• On natural rights and property:
  • Hobbes did not highlight natural rights as inalienable and saw the sovereign as the ultimate authority.
  • Locke considered life, liberty, and property as inalienable and central to human existence. Government must protect these rights.
• Locke’s model allowed for rebellion if the state violated its trust, whereas Hobbes denied any right to revolt.
• Thus, Locke’s political theory supports liberal democracy, whereas Hobbes leans toward authoritarianism for stability.

Assessment of John Locke

• Locke is widely acknowledged as the father of classical liberalism, with his ideas deeply embedded in modern democratic frameworks.
• He is seen as a scholar of the bourgeois class, promoting possessive individualism—the belief that individuals have absolute rights over their body and labor.
• C.B. Macpherson termed him an “individualist out and out“, based on several core beliefs:
  • Natural rights of the individual
  • Consent as the foundation of political authority
  • The state as a trust, not a master
  • The right to revolt if trust is broken
  • Absolute property rights
• Locke built his social contract theory around the assumption that individuals are rational and enlightened, unlike Hobbes’ portrayal of humans as purely selfish.
• This allowed Locke to design a limited government where power is always accountable to the people.
• Critics, however, point out gaps in his theory:
  • He did not fully explain the mechanics of consent, despite it being the backbone of his model.
  • The right to rebel was ambiguous—critics argue it was indirectly reserved for the landed elite or aristocracy, excluding the common people.
• Despite these criticisms, Locke’s contributions are monumental in promoting individual freedom, constitutional government, and rights-based politics.

Contemporary Relevance

• John Locke’s ideas remain highly relevant in today’s discussions on human rights, democracy, and constitutional governance.
• His influence can be seen in:
  • The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
  • The American Declaration of Independence
  • Modern liberal democracies emphasizing individual freedom and government accountability
• His theory of natural rights—life, liberty, and property—continues to underpin legal systems and civil liberties around the world.
• Locke’s concept of limited government through the consent of the governed is fundamental to modern representative systems, including regular elections, rule of law, and checks and balances.
• His belief in separation of powers inspired later thinkers like Montesquieu and forms the basis of the legislative, executive, and judicial divisions found in many constitutions today.
• Locke’s advocacy for freedom of religion and toleration influences secular policies, pluralism, and minority rights.
• His thoughts on property as a reward for labor have shaped both capitalist economies and property rights laws.
• Locke’s caution against authoritarian rule and his support for resistance against tyranny continue to inspire democratic movements, especially in contexts where civil liberties are at risk.
• However, modern critiques revisit his exclusion of atheists and the limited nature of his concept of revolt, suggesting a need to broaden his principles for greater inclusivity and egalitarianism.

Conclusion

John Locke’s legacy lies in transforming political thought by placing the individual at the center of governance. His concepts of natural rights, government by consent, and limited authority challenged monarchic absolutism and laid the foundation for liberal democracy. His ideas transcended the 17th century and have remained central to modern frameworks of justice, freedom, and equality. While some of his views invite critique, especially regarding property and class interests, Locke’s overall philosophy continues to offer valuable tools for analyzing and reforming political systems to ensure dignity and rights for all individuals.

1. Discuss how John Locke’s theory of natural rights provides the foundation for modern human rights frameworks.
2. Examine the significance of Locke’s social contract theory in shaping liberal democratic institutions.
3. Compare Locke’s and Hobbes’ views on the state of nature and analyze their impact on their respective political philosophies.