John Locke
Intellectual life in Europe was galvanized by the steady progress of scientific discoveries that began
in the late Middle Ages. The discoveries gradually revealed an understandable universe, one that operated
in perfect conformity to discoverable physical laws, the "Laws of Nature" as the philosophers
of the time called them. The universe was rational and could therefore be understood by the exercise of
reason. It followed, therefore, that since humans were part of the natural universe, their actions should
also be explainable in terms of natural laws. History made it clear that human actions were not always
rational nor in accordance with the natural order, but it was assumed that this was so because the human
will was free and could be exercised in perverse and contrary ways. Human happiness could thus be achieved
by discovering the laws that should regulate human behavior and acting in accordance with them.
This view encouraged some philosophers to turn their attention to the political state, asking how and
why states arose, and in accordance with what natural laws and rational principles they should operate.
John Locke (1632–1704) was one of the most influential of these political philosophers. Recognizing that
governments and laws were human contrivances, Locke asked what sort of principles governed human existence
before the rise of governments. He concluded that, in "the state of nature," humans possessed
their lives; their talents and what material properties they could accumulate; and the freedom to use
those talents, accumulate that property, and enjoy the fruits of their efforts. Expressed more succinctly,
humans possessed the right to life, liberty, and property. The fact that the use of force in the defense
of life, liberty, and property was universally regarded as justifiable seemed adequate proof that these
qualities were natural rights.
Human beings gathered together into states to offer mutual protection of these rights and to provide the
individual a greater scope for their exercise. The powers of government thus consisted only of such freedom
as the citizen relinquished to the political body as a whole, and the individual relinquished these freedoms
only in order that the government might protect and enhance the exercise of his basic rights. Civil government
was civil in more than one sense; each person gave up his freedom to act in ways detrimental to the rights
of others. It followed that all government was limited in its authority and that it derived that authority
from its citizens in order that it might achieve certain specific purposes. If a government claimed more
power than its citizens had yielded to it or failed to perform its proper functions, it had lost its justification,
and the people were free to alter its institutions however they collectively saw fit.
Locke’s views were quite well-known to the American colonists, and, when they wished to justify their
rebellion against British authority, it was only natural that they should turn to the principles set forth
by Locke. When Thomas Jefferson was drafting the Declaration of Independence and had reached the words
"We hold these truths to be self-evident . . . ," he simply summarized Locke except for one
slight alteration. The word property seemed somewhat limited, and he replaced it with the word
happiness—"life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." In all other respects, however,
the principles of Locke were adopted by the Americans as the justification and goal of their Revolution.
What are Locke’s views on equality? What are the natural limitations upon the exercise of individual rights?
What is the natural foundation of government? |
