Social and Political Philosophy

Assignment for third class (February 1)

This week we encounter John Locke, another of the classic advocates of social contract theory (or sometimes: state of nature theory). Keep in mind that the central idea of social contract theory is this: the best way to answer questions about the proper role and limits of government is to suppose that people were originally in a "state of nature" where there was no government, and then to suppose that governments came into being when people agreed to join a "social contract" establishing those governments. Then we can ask: what kind of government (with what powers and subject to what limits) would reasonable people agree to form? (What sort of contract would it be reasonable for them to sign?) Like Hobbes, Locke thinks that rational, self-interested people would want to establish a government (a sovereign). But unlike Hobbes, he thinks that they would not want to establish an absolute sovereign. Locke insists that only a government with limited powers is legitimate. Our main task is to understand why.

Secondarily, we will examine some brief excerpts from the work of Adam Smith one of the first and perhaps the greatest of the theorists of capitalism. Notice that Smith, like Locke, insists that the proper role of government is limited to a few essential functions.

Readings:

Arnhart, Chapter 8

Selections from John Locke and Adam Smith in Princeton Readings in Political Thought, pp.243-279 and pp.314-334

Write: 3-5 pages (total) answering the following questions:

In the excerpts contained in our text Locke is concerned to establish several principles. See if you can figure out (and explain in plain English) how (i.e., by what reasoning) Locke tries to establish the following points:

a. That people in the state of nature have certain natural rights (What rights? Why these rights? How is Locke's description of "the state of Nature" different from Hobbes'?) (See §§4-24, pp.243-249)

b. That even in a state of nature where everything is originally "given to mankind in common", private property would be a legitimate institution; (See §§25-51, in the reader pp.250-258)

c. That government by the consent of the governed must, in practice, mean majority rule? (See §§ 95-98, pp.259-260)

d. That people would have good reasons for abandoning the "state of nature" and joining a social contract to establish the rule of law (in other words, that government is a necessary and legitimate institution); (See §§123-131, pp.262-264)

e. That only a government with limited powers is legitimate. What limits does he insist on? By what reasoning does he argue for those limits? (See §§134-142, pp.264-268)

f. That absolute monarchy is "no form of civil government at all"; (See §§ 90, p.259)

g. That the people have a right to change or dissolve a government when it exceeds or neglects its legitimate functions; (See §§ 211-230, rpp.272-279)