The End
GOVERNMENT
• Write words or draw pictures that come to
mind when you hear the word
“government.”
• What is the reason or purpose for having a
government?
Freedoms
John Locke
How he influenced
the Constitution of the
United States of America
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/locke/
Security
SWBAT
• Define “political power.”
• Explain why a “Social Contract” is better
than a “State of Nature.”
• Explain how a “Social Contract” is
necessary to avoid the “State of War.”
• List and describe three things that are
required to ensure the preservation of
property.
Just a question . . .
• Do you believe that
humans are:
– Naturally good: Society and the
environment are what corrupts
them.
– Naturally bad: Society and the
social environment teach people
how to be good.
– Neither good or bad: Society and
the social environment define
whether or not people will
become good or bad.
– Some combination of the above.
Hobbes
• Wrote Leviathan 1651
• Introduced the State of Nature
• All had the right to
– Do everything and anything.
– Self-preservation through self-defense.
• This naturally brought man into war.
• War is not in man’s best interest
• The only way out of war, is by entering into a
social contract under an authority who will
provide safety and order.
“Leviathan”
was the
The Monarch
• The ruling, protective authority had
complete power even to matters of
religion and conscience.
• There is no separation of powers.
• The Leviathan was the Lawmaker, the
Judge, and the Executioner.
• Who was in authority over the
Leviathan / Monarch?
18th Century Philosophy
• Emphasis on reason and logic
• Social progress = people friendly politics
• John Locke was a political philosopher
– If Natural Laws were logical and could be
“discovered” or “uncovered” (gravity) then so
should there be discoverable / uncoverable
political / social laws.
Natural Rights
• All men possess or are “granted” these by
the Creator (“among these are . . .”)
– Life
– Liberty
– Property (the right to have)
• Problem: the study of history shows these
rights have often been denied
The Various States
I.
State of Nature
NEVER LASTS
II.
State of War
PERSISTS INDEFINITELY
but individually it cannot last forever . . .
III. Political / Civil Society
Social Contract
§ 3 Political power
• Authorized to make rules and
penalties, even severe,
• to ensure protection of property,
• and using the force of the
community to enforce these rules
– and protect from other groups;
• All this for the good of the group.
CHAP. II. Of the State of Nature
• Read §. 4,
–What two words describe and
characterize the State of
Nature?
•FREEDOM
•EQUALITY
State of Nature
• A state of Freedom
and Equality
• Live by Natural Laws
• § 7 Everyone has
Equal power and
jurisdiction to enforce
infringements on
Freedom & Equality
• How? § 8-12
http://art-smart.ci.manchester.ct.us/artists/ar_hicks.html
http://www.ldolphin.org/eden/
• Do we live in a
State of Nature?
• Do we have full
Freedom and
Equality?
• What would be
another word for
this state? Why?
How are Infringements handled?
• Who Handles
infractions?
– There is no “TEAM” in “ I “
• Ultimately,Killing is the
only option (§ 12)
• Ensures full protection of
your own Freedoms.
http://www.galleryofguns.com/gungallery/index.asp
http://www.buckknives.com/
Once an Infringement
begins, we are in a . . .
http://sill-www.army.mil/Graphics/WEAPONS/page.html
State of War
• Once one man
attempts to place
another under his
absolute power . . .
• Enmity and
Destruction! §16
• The transgressor has
left “reason” and
become a “wolf.”
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USASwhipping.htm
http://members.fortunecity.com/wrgifs/wrespictclips.html
http://www.defenselink.mil/photos/Operations/
§ 21 How about a Society?
• Individuals consent to
become a community
• Government w/Political
Power given over to
selected members of the
group
Freedoms
Security
• Under Social Contract
there is a constant
balancing of Natural
Rights vs Security
• Why? To preserve . . .
http://www.fotosearch.com/EYW130/bes_013/
& Protect Natural Rights
• Life
• Liberty
• Preservation of Property
Freedoms
Security
Preservation of Property
• What does a State of Nature “want” to
achieve Preservation of Property? Ref to §
123.
– §124 An established and known law
– §125 An indifferent judge
– §126 Power to “execute,” carry out the law
• How far does Political Power extend?
– §131 as far as the “common good”
– § 3 “only for the public good.”
Back to § 3
Political power, reprise
• Authorized to make laws and
penalties, even severe,
• to ensure preservation of property,
• and using the force of the
community to enforce these rules
– and protect from other groups;
• All this for the public good.
Are all Persons in a
Social Contract?
•
•
•
•
Babies?
Objectors?
Tyrants?
Can more than one STATE exist at the
same time among different persons?
• What is the ultimate desire of all Persons?
REBELLION!!
• When is rebellion
against the standing
government permitted?
• Refer to the opening
paragraphs of the
Declaration of
Independence.
When is Rebellion Justified?
• § 202 Where-ever law ends, tyranny begins . . .
• § 203 . . . Leave nothing but anarchy and
confusion
• §210 . . . If a long train of actions shew . . .
• § 211 distinguish between dissolution of the
society . . . And the government
• § 220 . . . The people are at liberty to provide for
themselves, by erecting a new legislative . . .
(For society can never lose its right to preserve
itself)
Find and Explain
the
references to the 3 Lockeian Estates
in this paragraph of the DoI.
(on a separate paper)
We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are
created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,
Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness-That to secure these
Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving
their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that
whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of
these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to
abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its
Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers
in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect
their Safety and Happiness.
Locke Study Guide
(you may hand-write onto a 3x5 card a “cheat-sheet” for the quiz)
•
What three “states” does Locke describe?
– Place them in their logical order and briefly explain each providing a quote from
The Second Treatise on Government.
•
What do individuals hope to gain by giving up certain freedoms?
– Give an example of a freedom given up to gain a benefit.
•
List three things that a “State of Nature” wants to achieve “preservation of
property.”
– Explain each of the three terms.
•
•
Under what conditions can an established authority be rebelled against?
Define the following terms:
–
–
–
–
•
State of Nature
Political Power
State of War
Social Contract
Why do individuals move toward “social contracts?”
Fun (but not Extra Credit)
• Riddle me this:
A man came into town
on Friday.
Three days later he left
on Friday.
Explain.