John Locke:
Revolutionary
Politics
How Does Locke Justify a Right to Use
Force?
Outline:
• Biography & Context
o The Glorious Revolution 1688
o Reign of James II
o The ‘Exclusion Crisis’ 1679-81
• The First Treatise of Government
o Challenges to Filmer
• The Second Treatise of Government
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Natural Rights & The State of Nature
The State of War – Differences with Hobbes
Property Rights
Consent and Social Contract
Locke & Legislative/Political Power
• Right to Justify Force?
John Locke (1632-1704)
• Father country lawyer and fought in Civil War
• Educated at Westminster School 1647
• Became a fellow at Christ Church, Oxford where he
studied Medicine (1652)
• Moved into the same household as Lord Ashley
(Lord Shaftesbury)
o Lord Shaftesbury persuaded Charles II to create a Board of Trade and
Plantations to collect information about trade and colonies, and Locke
became its secretary
o ‘Shaftesbury is the typical example of a seventeenth-century capitalist
landlord, colonial proprietor and commercial investor’ (Locke)
Context
• The ‘Exclusion Crisis’ 1679-1681
o Exclusion Bill from parliament sought to prevent James II from succeeding
the throne due to his Catholicism
o Outright in their opposition to James II meant the Whigs had to either
compel the King or defend themselves against James' vengeance when
it came
o The Protestant Association, who were usually loyal to the King were also
debating the issue as they too did not want the accession of Catholic
James.
o There were many debates ongoing at the time about the rights of a man
to rebel against his Sovereign; the conditions under which this might
happen, or indeed as we learn from Hobbes, strict teachings in the
misfortune that will befall anyone who drags humans back to the state of
nature as occurred in the Civil War period.
Two Treatises of
Government (1689)
• The First Treatise of Government
o Direct Challenge to Sir Robert Filmer
o Filmer argues that men are not ‘naturally free’
• Therefore all legitimate government is an absolute monarchy
• Absolute monarchy due to the dominion God gave to Adam
o Locke Contests this
• Adam had not, either by natural right or fatherhood, or by divine
authority from God received dominion of the world
• Even if he had…
o Heirs had no right
o ‘it is impossible that the rulers now on earth should make any benefit, or
derive any the least shadow of authority from that, which is held to be the
fountain of all power, Adam's private dominion and paternal
jurisdiction’(Locke)
Two Treatises of
Government (1689)
• The Second Treatise of Government
o Chapter 1: A summary of the first Treatise and the definition of Political
power
o Chapter II-VII: the bases of government, states of nature, war, slavery, the
nature of property
o Chapters VIII-XIV: the nature of political power and legitimate civil
government
o Chapter XV: recapitulates the fundamental distinctions between paternal,
political and despotic power.
o Chapter XVI-XVIII: elaborates the nature of illegitimate civil government. It
specifies three forms of such illegitimacy: 1. an unjust foreign conquest, 2.
internal usurpation of political rule and 3. tyrannical extension of power by
those who were originally legitimately in power.
o Chapter XIX: gives the conditions under which legitimate revolution may
occur.
Two Treatises of
Government (1689)
• The Second Treatise of Government - Chapter II: The
State of Nature
o Assumes in the state of nature – All men are free and equal (like Hobbes
to an extent)
• Hobbes sees equality as a state to gain power over one another/
liberty as a means for self-preservation at all costs
o Locke takes a moral approach
• Equality = No right of power over anyone else
• Yes we have rights for self-preservation
o Locke argues there are limitations (Laws of Nature)
o Therefore a distinction between Liberty & License
o Laws of Nature
• Deride from God – we have a duty to preserve and not harm life
• Also argues they are discoverable by reason
Two Treatises of
Government (1689)
• The Second Treatise of Government - Chapter III: The
State of War
o ‘The state of war is a state of enmity and destruction: and therefore declaring
by word or action, not a passionate and hasty, but a sedate settled design
upon another man's life, puts him in a state of war with him against whom he
has declared such an intention, and so has exposed his life to the other's
power to be taken away by him, or any one that joins with him in his defence,
and espouses his quarrel’ (Locke)
• Power over another person is a state of war
o The State of Nature and the State of War are different!
o ‘To avoid this state of war (wherein there is no appeal but to heaven, and
wherein every the least difference is apt to end, where there is no authority to
decide between the contenders) is one great reason of men's putting
themselves into society, and quitting the state of nature: for where there is an
authority, a power on earth, from which relief can be had by appeal’(Locke)
o Rulers can be in a state of war – using force and threatening subjects without
rights etc,
Two Treatises of
Government (1689)
• The Second Treatise of Government - Chapter V:
Property Rights
o For Locke:
• God gave the world to humans in common for self-preservation
• As the Earth is God-given, nobody has an initial right to land/property
• We all have initial property – Our bodies are exclusive to us
o Locke therefore argues our labour ‘and the work of [our] hands’ is
also ours
• Cultivated land (as long as there is enough left for others) is ours
• Spoiled land voids the laws of nature – it is the property of others
• Enclosure benefits all…
o A man who has say 100 acres
• Cultivates 10 intensely – enormous, concentrated output
• 90 acres left to others for them to cultivate
• No spoils - no violation of natural law as a man hasn’t taken
more than he needs
Two Treatises of
Government (1689)
• The Second Treatise of Government – Consent &
Social Contract
o Chapter VIII (Section 95)
• ‘No one can be put out of this estate, and subjected to the political
power of another, without his own consent. The only way whereby
any one divests himself of his natural liberty, and puts on the bonds of
civil society, is by agreeing with other men to join and unite into a
community for their comfortable, safe, and peaceable living one
amongst another…’
• ‘When any number of men have so consented to make one
community or government, they are thereby presently incorporated,
and make one body politic, wherein the majority have a right to act
and conclude the rest’
o Importance of majoritarianism and consent
Two Treatises of
Government (1689)
• The Second Treatise of Government – Consent &
Social Contract
o Difference between express consent and tacit consent
• Express consent is one who actively consents to a political body
• Tacit is one who does not actively consent but uses any forms of
dominion that belong to a govt.
o ‘How far any one shall be looked on to have consented, and
thereby submitted to any government, where he has made no
expressions of it at all. And to this I say, that every man, that hath
any possessions, or enjoyment, of any part of the dominions of
any government, doth thereby give his tacit consent, and is as
far forth obliged to obedience to the laws of that government,
during such enjoyment, as any one under it…’ (Locke)
Two Treatises of
Government (1689)
• The Second Treatise of Government – Legislative &
Political Power
o Chapter XI (Section 134)
• ‘The great end of men's entering into society, being the enjoyment of
their properties in peace and safety, and the great instrument and
means of that being the laws established in that society; the first and
fundamental positive law of all commonwealths is the establishing of
the legislative power; as the first and fundamental natural law, which
is to govern even the legislative itself, is the preservation of the society,
and (as far as will consist with the public good) of every person in it’
o Legislative power can
• Reside in an individual or many
• Must conform to the Laws of Nature (Contrasts with Hobbes)
How Does Locke Justify a
Right to Use Force?
• Tyrannies
o Chapter XVIII (Sect 199)
• ‘As usurpation is the exercise of power, which another hath a right to; so
tyranny is the exercise of power beyond right, which no body can have a
right to. And this is making use of the power any one has in his hands, not
for the good of those who are under it, but for his own private separate
advantage.’
o Locke highlights James I with this point – directed at his grandson
James II
o Kings, governments, political bodies can be tyrannical
o We can use force when our self-preservation is in jeopardy
• Stark contrast with Hobbes
o If force is used and government dissolved
• ‘The people are at liberty to provide for themselves, by erecting new
legislature’
• Criticism – Loss of govt leads to more rebellions? (Hobbes)
o Locke – mistreatment generally leads to rebellion
Conclusions
• Political power
o Is brought about by the collective consent of the
people
o It’s primary purpose is to serve to protect the
preservation of its subjects
o If it exploits its authority
• People have the right to act as supreme and
either dissolve the government by any means