John Locke
Second Treatise
on Government
After years of dynastic war,
England settled down with the
Tudors and Stuarts.
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Well, with a lot of
“persuasion”
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James I/IV tried to
further establish the
monarchy.
King James I/VI, On The Divine
Right Of Kings, 1609
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In the first original of kings, whereof some had
their beginning by conquest, and some by
election of the people, their wills at that time
served for law; Yet how soon kingdoms began to
be settled in civility and policy, then did kings set
down their minds by laws ... I conclude then this
point touching the power of kings, with this
axiom of divinity, that as to dispute what God
may do, is blasphemy ... so is it sedition in
subjects, to dispute what a king may do in
the height of his power.
I.
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Historical Background
Remember the
Puritans?
Left for America in
1620
In 1648 brought
down the English
monarchy!
Puritans outlawed Christmas
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Puritans 1648-1668
Restoration Charles
II 1668-1688
James II 1688
Catholic
Glorious Revolution
Mary and William
Anne
John Locke (1632 – 1704)
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Enters Oxford in 1651
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Studies philosophy, natural
history, medicine
Becomes physician and
advisor to First Earl of
Shaftesbury (big Whig
politician)
Reign of Charles II,
Charles dies in 1685
Glorious Revolution 1688
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Line of succession issue (Catholic vs.
Protestant)
Locke – through Shaftesbury – gets
implicated in plot to assassinate James
Leaves England for Holland in 1683
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Begins to write anonymous political pamphlets,
including the Two Treatises on Government
(1689)
1688 “Glorious Revolution” in
England

Replace the
Catholic line from
James with
William and Mary
(both Protestant)
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Locke was an
advisor to William
while the two of
them were in
Holland together
Locke lives out his
days on government
pension
Locke’s Second Treatise on
Government
I.
II.
III.
IV.
Biographical/Historical Background
State of Nature
Freedom, Liberty, and License
Property and Labor
II.
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Locke begins Chapter 2:
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State of Nature
“To understand political power right, and derive it
from its original, me must consider what state all
men are naturally in…”
What we need to know, then, is the natural
condition of mankind
II.
State of Nature
Continuing with the quote from the opening
of Chapter 2
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“… and that is a state of perfect freedom to
order their actions, and dispose of their
possessions, and persons as they think fit,
within the bounds of the law of Nature,
without asking leave, or depending upon the
will of any other man.”
II.
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State of Nature
Individuals living in state of nature
Also seems we need to know 3 things:
1. Freedom
2. Law
of nature
3. Property Rights
II.
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Freedom, Liberty, License
Two senses of freedom at work here

Free from any social bonds, which means
 Not
dependent on the will of
any other people
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Note: to this point in human history, very few people
could be said to enjoy freedom in this sense
II.
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Freedom, Liberty, License
But it’s not just any freedom, rather it’s
freedom in accord with “the law of nature”
And that law is:
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“The state of Nature has a law of Nature to
govern it, which obliges every one: and reason,
which is that law, teaches all mankind, who will
but consult it, that being all equal and
independent, no one ought to harm another in his
life, health, liberty, or possessions” (chp.2, par 6).
II.
Freedom, Liberty, License
We get 2 arguments to support this view:
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1.
Religious
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2.
Each of us is created in God’s image
We don’t have the right to destroy ourselves (as we
are God’s creatures), so we can’t have the right to
destroy others like us
Secular
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“equal and independent” phrase
Moral sympathy and rationality
II.
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Freedom, Liberty, License
Summary
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In state of nature we have freedom, which is life in
accordance with the law of nature
Distinction between liberty and license
For Locke, liberty is not the right to do everything,
but rather to do anything in accordance with the
law of nature
II.
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Locke contra Hobbes
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Freedom, Liberty, License
Locke basically agrees with the structure of
Hobbes’ argument, but disagrees with his account
There is a sense in which people in Hobbes state
of nature have freedom, but it is not a freedom we
would want; it is self-defeating
But…How can I be free if I must obey a law?
II.
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Freedom, Liberty, License
So for Locke, state of nature is when we are
all free, indeed it is a state of perfect freedom
Also a state of equality, since no one is
forced to submit to any authority higher than
the dictates of her own reason
II.
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Freedom, Liberty, License
Chapter 2
“A state also of equality, wherein all the power and
jurisdiction is reciprocal, no one having more than another:
there being nothing more evident, than that creatures of
the same species and rank promiscuously born to all the
same advantages of Nature, and the use of the same
faculties, should also be equal one amongst another
without subordination or subjection, unless the Lord and
Master of them all, should by any manifest declaration of
his will set one above another, and confer on him by an
evident and clear appointment an undoubted right to
dominion and sovereignty.”
II.
Freedom, Liberty, License
“Men living together according to reason,
without a common superior on Earth, with
authority to judge between them, is properly
the state of Nature” (chp. 3, par. 19).
II.
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Freedom, Liberty, License
Which raises the
question of why we
would ever leave the
state of nature? Why
not anarchy?
Do we find any
problems lurking in the
state of nature????
Social Contract
When, by the miscarriages of those in
authority, it (ruling) is forfeited; upon
the forfeiture of their rulers, …, it
reverts to the society, and the people
have a right to act as supreme, and
continue the legislative in themselves
or place it in a new form, or new
hands, as they think good.
Feudalism A political and
economic system in which land
and government are given to
vassals in return for their military
service.