LOCKE, LECTURE 4Majority Rule; the Purpose of Government

LOCKE’S SOCIAL CONTRACT: TWO STAGES

Locke’s social contract works in two stages, moving from state of nature to civil society to government (§106)

This first social-contract stage, achieved by universal consent, has:

“made that community one body, with a power to act as one body, which is only by the will and determination of the majority…. Whosoever therefore out of a state of nature unite into a community, must be understood to give up all the power, necessary to the ends for which they unite into society, to the majority of the community, unless they expressly agreed in any number greater than the majority.” (2T.96, 99)

Power? Their executive power of nature and some of their rights to self-government.

Ends? Preservation of property, broadly defined.

SOCIAL-CONTRACT STAGE 2: FORMING A GOVERNMENT

In the second stage of the social contract, civil society must choose a government to rule over it.

This choice is made by majority vote rather than universal consent. (§132)

This common-wealth, as Locke refers to it, can take many forms: democracy (direct or representative), oligarchy, monarchy (hereditary or elective), or a mix of any of these. (§132)

These are traditional government forms… what distinguishes them for Locke? Where the lawmaking power resides.

THE MAJORITY

After the initial (universal) act of consent, further matters are handled by majority rule

Majority gives body politic power to act

Initial act of consent binds people to this majority’s will, going forward:

“And thus every man, by consenting with others to make one body politic … puts himself under an obligation, to every one of that society, to submit to the determination of the majority…” (p 52, §97)

Consider the tension between consent and obligation here: You may not always be a part of the majority, yet you are bound by obligation by your initial act of consent.

MORE MAJORITY

Locke compares majority to unanimity as tools of legitimacy (p 53, §98)

What is the problem with seeking the consent of everyone (that is, unanimity) in order to act?

He lists a few admittedly weak problems first: illness, career demands might keep people away from the assembly

Then, the real reason: variety of opinions, interests “which unavoidably happen in all collections of men” (§98). He’s admitting here that demanding unanimous consent would be crippling.

OBJECTION 1: NOT HISTORICAL

Locke does something clever next… he lists some objections that could be made

Why would he do this?

He gets to define (and then answer) the objections to his own argument. Clever, right?

Objection 1: There is no record of societies being formed this way

Locke’s response: there is no record of a lot of things, but it doesn’t mean they didn’t happen. Society was formed before written history.

However, Locke is being disingenuous here…

OBJECTION 1: NOT HISTORICAL

He’s clearly right that society precedes ability to keep records. Also, much has probably been lost. But, is that the real problem? No. The real issue is that societies were most probably formed by force, not consent.

The more important point is contained in a parenthetical aside:

“at best an argument from what has been, to what should of right be, has no great force” (§ 103). What does he mean?

OBJECTION 2: WE’RE NOT BORN FREE

Objection 2: We’re all born under a government. When could the choice to form a society occur?

Locke’s response: Men are born free and the frequent occurrence of upheavals, departures, and rebellions displays that they consider themselves free.

Notice that, in this case, he *is* appealing to historical record.

Also, notice the move Locke has made here…

GO AHEAD, REBEL ALREADY

Locke has told us that people living under a government that they have not consented to are actually living in the state of nature under a slavemaster

Now, he says that people rebel against such illegitimate authorities throughout history because that’s what free people naturally do.

He’s basically saying, if you haven’t consented to your government, it would be natural to go ahead a rebel.

Is it any wonder that he published this book anonymously?

HUMAN NATURE HINT

Read § 131 (p. 68)Locke gives another glimpse into his view of human nature in last section (131) of Ch 9:

“…for no rational creature can be supposed to change his condition with an intention to be worse”

Humans are utility maximizers:

They calculate utility of staying in State of Nature vs. entering society and then choose accordingly

Utility maximization is now a common assumption in economics and political science, but it was new in Locke’s time

WHAT IS MISSING IN THE SON?

In the passage we just looked at (§131), Locke also points out what is sorely missing in the state of nature for preserving property (life, liberty, and estate):

Legislative body: establish laws

Independent judges: unbiased actor to decide disputes

Executive: enforce laws/judgments

*In case you were wondering, yes, Locke is laying out the 3 powers of government that we are so familiar with today.