John Locke Civil society PHIL 2345 2008 09

John Locke: Civil society PHIL 2345: 2008 -09

Why is civil society needed? • Don’t we already have everything we need? – Land – Property (labour theory of value) – Agriculture (from hunter-gatherer to sedentary; from subsistence to cash crops) – Agreements, contracts, treaties • b/w a Swiss and an Indian! • No, b/c some will choose to put themselves in the state of war w/ others; • Violate the law of nature—steal property and cause injury.

Motives to enter civil society • ‘…the enjoyment of the property he has in this state [of nature] is very unsafe, very unsecure’; • ‘This makes him willing to quit a condition, which, however, free, is full of fears and continual dangers’ (123); • ‘Thus mankind…are quickly driven into society’ (emph. added; 127); • ‘The great and chief end…of men’s uniting into common-wealths…is the preservation of their property’ (124).

Family--a compact? No! (ch. 7) • ‘God having made man such a creature, that…it was not good for him to be alone, put him under strong obligations of necessity, convenience, and inclination to drive him into society…’ (77). • Conjugal bonds: as long as it takes to raise young: – herbivorous vs carnivorous (hunting) animals • Radical doctrine: – husband is not an absolute monarch, wife may assert her will (82 -3)! • Master-servant also not a compact, b/c temporary (85); • Authority of pater familias limited by time and extent (86): – It is not legislative (law-making) rule w/ power of life/death.

The Compact • Compact: – ‘to join and unite into a community for their comfortable, safe, and peaceable living…in a secure enjoyment of their properties, and a greater security against any, that are not of it’ (95). • Duress? Others ‘left as they were in the liberty of the state of nature’ (95). • Majority rule: – ‘And thus every man…puts himself under an obligation…to submit to the determination of the majority…or else this original compact…would signify nothing…’ (97).

Tacit consent • We may not be one of those who agree to the original compact • How do we actually consent? • At birth we have no nationality (118); • We tacitly consent by owning ‘possessions’ or enjoying ‘any part of the dominions of any government’ (119); – I own a flat so I consent tacitly to the laws of H. K. – I can sell my property and leave, thereby withdrawing my tacit consent; • Is this the case in most states today?

Question • What are the options for a new-born baby who passively utilizes the medical resources of the hospital in an already established civil society, – in choosing his own state (whether to stay in the state of nature or war or civil society), – given that he has, according to Locke, already joined the civil society by tacit consent? • Does his subjective will to join/not join civil society matter if he has already ‘agreed’ to join by his tacit consent?

Review of So. N (87) • Complete freedom • No state, no police, no judiciary • In the case of transgressions against one’s life or property (‘estate’): • One is one’s own judge, jury and executioner – ‘…as he is persuaded the offence deserves, even with death itself…’

Political Society (87) • ‘…no political society can be, nor subsist, without having in itself the power to preserve the property, and…punish the offences of all those of that society; there, and there only is political society where every one of the members hath quitted this natural power, resigned it up into the hands of the community…And thus all private judgment of every particular member being excluded, the community comes to be umpire by settled standing rules, indifferent, and the same to all parties…and punishes those offences which any member hath committed against the society…’.

Political or civil society (PS), the ‘Umpire’ • Each ‘quits…his executive power of the law of nature’ (89) – ‘And this puts men out of a state of nature into that of a commonwealth’ • PS = repository of individuals’ powers/freedoms in So. N: – Every man ‘has given a right to the Common-wealth to employ his force…’ • PS serves as rule-maker, judge, jury and executioner • Legislative power: makes the rules— – settled, standing, indifferent—same laws for all, known to all, subject to change only by action of PS – May also be judge (89) • Executive power: investigates crimes and exacts penalties.

Absolute Monarchy = Tyranny • ‘Hence it is evident that absolute monarchy, which by some men is counted the only government in the world, is indeed inconsistent with civil society, and so can be no form of civilgovernment at all…’ (90). • ‘For he [the absolute ruler] being supposed to have all, both legislative and executive power in himself alone, there is no judge to be found, no appeal lies open…’ (91) • This is in fact ‘the unrestrained state of nature…’ (91).

Absolute Monarchy = Tyranny • ‘He that would have been insolent and injurious in the woods of America, would not probably be much better in a throne… and the sword [shall] presently silence all those that dare question it…’ (92); • Case of Ceylon (Sri Lanka), other cases of tyranny throughout history—empirical appeal; • Aristotle: benevolent Kinship might be best regime, but the King is only a man, and therefore subject to corruption, and prone to tyranny.

Absolute Monarchy = Tyranny • ‘…what security, what fence is there, in such a state, against the violence and oppression of this absolute ruler’? (93) • B/w subjects there are rules, but not b/w subjects and rulers • To propose any curb on the ruler = ‘voice of faction’ [recall Hobbes] – ‘…as if when men quitting the So. N entered into society, they agreed that all of them but one, should be under the restraint of laws, but that he should still retain all the liberty of the So. N, increased with powers, and made licentious by impunity’ (93).

Absolute Monarchy = Tyranny • ‘No man in civil society can be exempted from the laws of it…’ (94) • He is still in the So. N • Only logical possibility: So. N = PS • ‘…I have never yet found any one so great a patron of anarchy as to affirm’ (94).