John Locke’s Political Theory: Natural Rights, Social Contract, and the State
POLITICAL THEORY: THE ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION AND THE STATE (Second Treatise on Civil Government)
The State of Nature
In the state of nature, men are free and equal, possessing a natural moral law and natural rights. Discoverable by reason, the natural moral law dictates that men are free and independent, and that no one ought to harm another’s life, health, or freedom, or disrespect their property. This law, universal and compulsory, is established by reason as a reflection of God, with clear medieval roots that Locke received through Hooker.
From natural law derives a series of natural rights: every man is entitled to the preservation and defense of his life and the right to freedom. However, these rights come with responsibilities: men are obligated to preserve their lives and have no right to suicide or to submit to slavery, as it grants another power over their life.
Another fundamental natural right, the basis of liberalism, is the right to property. Since every man has the right to self-preservation, he is entitled to things necessary for this purpose and has ownership over things he “intertwines” with his work, such as the land he cultivates. In nature, there exists a right to private property, regardless of the laws of the state-ordered civil society.
This right to property, however, is not without limitations. Anything exceeding the ability to acquire things through work belongs to others, such as land (Locke seems to be considering the possibility of land to cultivate for all, as in the America of his time).
While Hobbes believes the state of nature is necessarily a state of permanent war, Locke argues that it is possible for individuals or groups to use force to control the life, liberty, or property of others. Natural rights are difficult to maintain in practice in the state of nature because, although everyone is bound by conscience to obey the natural law, it doesn’t mean they actually do.
This difficulty leads to the interest in forming an organized society to better ensure the enjoyment of rights and liberties. This necessitates written law and an established judicial system. Even in the state of nature, where individuals have the right to punish transgressions, there can be excessive punishment or a lack of power to punish crimes, compounded by the bias of self-interested individuals.
Thus, men associate in political communities and leave the state of nature to preserve their lives, liberty, and property, ultimately to guarantee their natural rights.
The Political Society: The Covenant
Society and government must be based on reason and result from consent. The absolute freedom of the state of nature is restricted by political and legal institutions, and this restriction is justified only if derived from the consent of those who enter political society, submitting to a government.
As mentioned, entering a political community can occur in two ways: by abandoning the state of nature and forming a government, or by joining an already constituted state.
Upon entering the political community, men do not relinquish their freedom for mere convenience but surrender their legislative and executive powers as they exist in the state of nature. This allows society to make laws (the legislature) and grants the power to enforce laws and impose penalties for violations. In this respect, the freedom of the state of nature is constrained, but this allows for greater security and a better enjoyment of liberty.
Furthermore, the agreement is the decision of individuals to submit to the will of the majority, with government residing in the consensus of the majority. The majority will be the criterion for choosing the parliament and for decisions within it.
These majority decisions form positive law (specific laws enacted by humans in a community), deriving their power from the law of nature and the law of reason. Positive law must respect the immutable natural rights (preservation of life and health, freedom, equality, property) that God gave to humans and can be discerned by reason.
Locke rejected absolute monarchy as incompatible with civil society, opposing it with his liberalism. This led him to develop a vision contrary to that of Hobbes, although Locke’s criticism focused on Robert Filmer, who, in a piece entitled “Patriarcha,” defended the divine origin of the power of an absolute monarch. In his “Two Treatises of Government,” Locke refutes Filmer’s work, which traces power back to Adam, whom God, according to Filmer, had granted power that kings inherited.
The Powers of Government
Civil power is to be constituted by the legislature, which includes the judiciary and the executive. Later, Montesquieu (heavily influenced by Locke) would establish the division of these three powers.
Locke speaks of the legislature as the supreme power of the community, responsible for making laws and deciding how to use force to defend the rights and safety of citizens, provided they avoid arbitrariness or exceeding these purposes. The legislature must legislate for all citizens, focusing on the common good and ensuring the transition from the state of nature to civil society is beneficial to all.
The executive is responsible for enforcing or implementing the laws created for all. The law stems from the will of the citizens under the executive power and its application.
Both powers must be separated, and those who make laws should not be those who execute them, as this could lead to exemptions from obeying the laws or the establishment and implementation of laws for personal convenience.
The supreme power in the state, as mentioned, is the legislature and ultimately resides in the people (popular sovereignty), who hold the right of resistance and deposition of the legislative and executive power when they act against inalienable individual rights. Since power is received from the people, they always have the right to rebel against tyranny and against any political power that exceeds its limits, because civil society has been established to securely enjoy natural rights, and if the state goes against them, it loses its legitimacy. Thus, the legislative power is not absolute: it is accountable to the trust placed in it.
Finally, it should be noted that when referring to the division of powers, we often think of Montesquieu’s separation of executive, legislative, and judicial powers. However, Locke’s division is different and consists of the executive, legislative, and what he calls “federative” power, which is responsible for organizing international relations, i.e., declaring war and making peace, forming alliances, etc.
A state, in relation to others, exists in a state of nature, functioning as a body or individual that interacts with other states. Just as individuals in the state of nature relate to each other, individual states do not form a civil or political society together. In a conflict between states, there is no superior body to appeal to, unlike the supranational organizations of today.
Therefore, each state has a natural power that it exercises over other states or groups outside its community. As in the state of nature, the aggrieved party has the right to punish the offender, and these are the functions of the federation.