What are the political thoughts and contributions of John Locke?

Answer 1

john Locke was one of the most important political philosophers of the modern era, as well as pioneer in the field of British Empiricism. Most notably, Locke is acclaimed for his development of the "social contract theory," recognized as a founding principle of American democracy and the French Revolution. In political thought, the social contract theory refers to both a theory on the origin of government, and a system by which humanity should be governed.

As a theory of political origin, Locke draws on the theories of Thomas Hobbes, and his materialism, as well as the concept of "man in the state of nature." By realizing that without social order, life would be, as Hobbes put it, "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short," (Leviathan, Hobbes), Locke proposed that humans organized themselves solely through the pursuit for a better life. These ideas were revolutionary in an era that accepted the divine right of kings, and a theory that denied divine involvement in politics was borderline heretical.

As a system of human governing, the social contract theorizes that human involvement in society offers benefits to humanity, and thus humanity is forced to follow certain rules, created by society. To understand the premises of the contract, it is important to understand Locke's theories on natural human rights, namely, the right to life, liberty, health, and property. Locke felt that social and political organization were obliged to guarantee humans these rights. However, upon a breach of the social contract, these rights could be taken away. For example, if society created a law which banned robbery, and a criminal broke that law, his right to liberty could justifiably be taken away. As long as both parties agree to the contract, all rights are guaranteed, but upon a breach of contract, rights may be taken away. Locke also proposed the separation of powers as a means to ensure the maintenance of natural human rights, another critical theory towards American Democracy.

Along with Hobbes and Bacon, Locke was a founder of the British Empirical movement, an opposition to Cartesian Rationalism. Locke believed the epistemological knowledge came from experience, and could not be developed independently of experience. This was monumental to the basis of his theories, because it rationalized the involvement of society in human thought, similar to the theories of Marx or Hegel, but in a slightly different philosophical and historical context.

The social contract extends far beyond its political influence. Regardless of one's belief or denial of British Empiricism, the social contract is applicable in all realms of human interaction. As a human creation, the social contract is perfect justification for reasonable human behavior. However, disputes begin to arise over the nature of society itself. Those who belief that society is conscious, or at least that human governing is relative to the society being governed, would have trouble justifying the social contract. In such a context, critics may be able to argue that the social contract is a justification for tyrannical ruling, because society may demand a powerful leader. One critical fault in such an argument is that unwarranted denial of natural rights is a breach of the social contract. As such, the social contract theory is best used as an explanation of a government in which natural rights are intact.