Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s The Social Contract Or Principles Of Political Right came after John Locke’s Essay Concerning The True Original Extent And End Of Civil Government. John Locke’s Essay came out in 1690; Rousseau was aware of the Essay when he published his Social Contract in 1762.
John Locke is at once one of the strongest defenders of freedom and at the same time an unwitting enemy of that very freedom. His Essay Concerning The True Original Extent And End Of Civil Government expounds the foundation of capitalist property ownership, describes a theory of state that heavily influenced the American Revolution, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
Basically, John Locke’s social contractarian theory of government supposes that men are born free into the state of Nature, and the only legitimate government is one consented to by the governed. When a government acts outside the boundary of consent, it is a war with the people and they have the right to overthrow the government.
Two major flaws to this theory are accepted and continued to this day. The first, that “Natural Rights” exist. Insofar as “rights” are the product of contracts, natural rights cannot exist outside of the social contract.
The second is his taking for granted the legitimacy of democracy. While expounding the legitimacy of individualist society, and defending the individual rights from impeachment, he suicidally accepts for granted that democracy will guarantee those rights.
Some could argue that democracy (i.e., majority rule) is no more legitimate than monarchy. What right does the monarch have to order me? None. And what right does the majority have to order me? None. In that respect, they are identical in their absence of legitimate authority. Not to mention that democracy tends to devolve inevitably into socialism or communism or some other form of collectivism.
He does address collectivism (”Liberalism” in modern America). In addressing the ability of democracy to legislate minutia:
Chap.IV.
Nobody can give more power than he has himself.
In other words, “nobody can forfeit the rights of others because those rights do not belong to others to forfeit”.
Of course, he should have foreseen that democracy would arrogate to themselves all rights of all men to forfeit as they please. After all, Hobbes defense of totalitarianism (i.e., Leviathan) was published in 1651, 38 years before Locke’s Essay Concerning The True Original Extent And End Of Civil Government.
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
Subscribe |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
