John Locke
Second Treatise
on Government
Locke’s Second Treatise
I.
II.
III.
IV.
Biographical/Historical Background
State of Nature One
Freedom, Liberty, and License
Property and Labor
I.
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Historical Background
John Locke (1632 – 1704)
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
I.
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Historical Background
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)
I.
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Historical Background
1688 “Glorious Revolution” in
England
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Replace the Catholic line from
James with William and Mary
(both Protestant)
Locke was an advisor to
William while the two of them
were in Holland together
In exchange for throne, William
& Mary agreed to a more
limited, constitutional
monarchy
Signed “Toleration Act” which
allowed for religious toleration
for most faiths (except
Catholicism and Unitarianism)
I.

Historical Background
Locke lives out his days on government
pension
… without further ado, Locke’s Second Treatise
II.
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Locke begins Chapter 2:
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State of Nature 1
“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.
Continuing with the quote from the opening
of Chapter 2
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State of Nature 1
“… 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.”
What does that mean?
II.
State of Nature 1
Individuals living in state of nature
Also seems we need to know 3 things:
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1.
2.
3.
Freedom
Law of nature
Property Rights
III. Freedom, Liberty, License
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Two senses of freedom at work here
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Free from any social bonds, which means
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Not dependent on the will of any other people
I can do “X” without asking someone else’s approval
to do “X”
Bear in mind, he is saying that this freedom is natural;
that we naturally are free from any social constraints
or relations
Note: to this point in human history, very few people
could be said to enjoy freedom in this sense
III. Freedom, Liberty, License
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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).
III. 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
III. Freedom, Liberty, License
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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
III. Freedom, Liberty, License
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But…How can I be free if I must obey a law?
?
?
?
?
Does freedom mean doing anything you want to do?
III. Freedom, Liberty, License
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Drug addict example
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Do I want to be the kind of person who smokes
crack?
Do I want to smoke crack now? Or now? Or..
Only the first person is truly free
Freer in that life is more fully an expression of
your own will
When following the laws of nature, you are
following the dictates of your own reason and
nothing else
III. Freedom, Liberty, License
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In other words, freedom does not mean
war… it means peace!
Think of interpersonal interaction … do we
need a sovereign to tell us what is right?
III. Freedom, Liberty, License
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So, for Locke, a 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
III. Freedom, Liberty, License
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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.”
III. Freedom, Liberty, License
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For Hobbes, freedom and equality were in
large measure responsible for the state of
nature being a war of all against all
For Locke, freedom and equality lead to a
radically different situation
III. 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).
III. Freedom, Liberty, License
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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????
IV. Property & Labor
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Source of Private
Property?
IV. Property & Labor
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2 Caveats though:
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no spoilage
must leave as good in kind for others to
appropriate
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that is, after you take your share, there’s still enough
left for others to take their share
V. State of Nature 2
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Add money economy
Effect on our relations?
Wealth
Inequality in the State of Nature I
A
B
C
Individuals
D
Wealth
Inequality in the State of Nature I
Rough Equality
A
(chp. 5,par. 37; par 41)
B
C
Individuals
D
Wealth
Inequality in the State of Nature 2
After the introduction of a money economy,
inequality becomes much more extreme
A
B
C
Individuals
D
Wealth
Inequality in the State of Nature 2
After the introduction of a money economy,
inequality becomes much more extreme
A
But everyone is better off
(chp. 5, par. 47)
B
C
Individuals
D
VI. Mutual Advantage & the
Social Contract
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If we have social relations...
And we have economic relations...
Why do we need political relations?
Why won’t people be able to get along?
Why do we need politics?
Don’t
Cooperate
Don’t
Cooperate
Cooperate
3,3
1,4
4,1
2,2
Cooperate
Prisoners’ Dilemma
VII. Prisoners’ Dilemma
Symbolic Form:
 We’re in a Prisoner’s Dilemma situation
whenever:
T>R>P>S
Temptation to defect > Rewards of Cooperation
Rewards > Punishment for Not Cooperating
Punishment > Sucker’s Payoff
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VII. Prisoners’ Dilemma
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Note that even if we start at the cooperative
outcome, that outcome is not stable
Each player can improve his/her position by
adopting a different strategy
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4 = best option
3 = 2nd best option
2 = 2nd worst option
1 = worst option
(Temptation)
(Reward)
(Punishment)
(Sucker
Don’t
Cooperate
Don’t
Cooperate
Cooperate
3,3
1,4
4,1
2,2
Cooperate
Prisoners’ Dilemma
VII. Prisoners’ Dilemma
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But since both players have changed strategy
we end up at the non-cooperative outcome,
where both players are worse off than if they
had chosen to cooperate
Don’t
Cooperate
Don’t
Cooperate
Cooperate
3,3
1,4
4,1
2,2
Cooperate
Prisoners’ Dilemma
VII. Prisoners’ Dilemma
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And, as we noted, this non-cooperative
outcome is also a Nash equilibrium outcome
Neither player has any incentive to change
strategy since whoever changes will do
immediately worse by making the move
Don’t
Cooperate
Don’t
Cooperate
Cooperate
3,3
1,4
4,1
2,2
Cooperate
Prisoners’ Dilemma
VIII.Mutual Advantage and the
Social Contract
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Prevent defections and allow for cooperative
behavior
What kind of political life?
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Need to insure that everyone agrees to terms of
contract
What sort of terms would arise?
Sovereign
We the People
Sovereign
Reciprocal Obligations
We the People
The Social Contract
Binds the Sovereign and
the People
We the People
Sovereign
VIII.Mutual Advantage and the
Social Contract
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Locke’s Social Contract then includes:
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Rights to protect us against the government
Popular sovereignty
Legislative power supreme (rather than the
executive as in a monarchy)
Basis for this -- fundamental equality of all human
beings