John Locke was a prominent figure in the fields of contractarianism and epistomology. His writings detailed a social contract, which invariably denotes the way people agree to be governed. John Locke was born 1632 and died 1704. He would have been influenced by many social factors. He witnessed the English Civil War between 1641 and 1651, where Oliver Cromwell ruled as dictator, before being superseeded by Charles II. After Charles II was James II, a catholic king, who thought himself as an absolute power, chosen by God himself. Locke’s views were contradictive of this, hence he was forced forced to flee during James’ rule. He returned at the beginning of the Glorious Revolution when William of Orange became King.
Locke was evidently critical of religion, a sentiment echoed by Machiavelli, when he says ‘Church has kept and still keeps our country divided’. Locke saw the divisivness of religion and the afflictions it placed upon society. In additon, he belived it unconstructivly influenced monarchs to see themselves as chosen by God, also known as ‘The Divine Right of Kings’. It is argued that this ‘Divine Right’ can be traced back to the Old Testament whereby Adam says, ‘Let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air’. Locke believed God plays no part in the election or being of a king, consequently he asserts all people to be the same. He attacks the concept of ‘The Divine Right of Kings’ in ‘The Treatise of Sort’.
‘The Second Treatise’ documents further Locke’s ideas on the structures, hierarchies and governing of a society. Locke reflects upon a time before man walked the earth, he describes it as a ‘State of Nature’. He believes everyone should enjoy the right to natural freedom and equality, but should obey the overriding laws of nature. He supposes every man intuitivly knew these moral laws and that stemming from God they are ‘interwoven into the constitution of the human mind’.
John Locke outlined 3 rights he felt were mandatory for all humans, provided they were not breached, these were Life; the right not to be killed, Liberty; the right to express yourself and Property; The right to securely own a property.
He has been subject to fierce criticism relating to the final right he details; property. This criticism is primarily based around the unequal distribution of wealth and its contradiction to the concept of communism. This ‘right’ is also detached from Locke’s concept of ‘natural laws’. The ownership of property is a wholly constitutional idea.
Locke insisted government should only ever be elected by mass consent and they should ‘limited by law’. They should act as a people’s parliment, whose principal concern was with the protection of property. He epitomised liberalist views with idea that taxes could only be levied upon public consent and people were within right to advocate mutiny if the ruling government ceased to respect law. He said, ‘revolution is a natural right’.
Locke’s ideals could be considered dangerous as they could lead to unruliness. His ideas are a farcry from the autocratic ‘Plato’s Utopia’, but are vaguely demonstrated in David Cameron’s ideas pertaining to the ‘Big Society’. They don’t cautiously digress from tackling the role of state from a liberalist point of view.
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