Locke’s Critique of Filmer

Locke’s critique of Filmer-

A. Natural- The monarch is not “dad”- “queen Elizabeth is mom to some but not mom to all” ; As a parent, you don’t have political power over your kid (can’t kill or starve kids- certain obligations you have by having children that restricts your action)

• Children have a right to self-preservation just like their parents do; BIG difference- dependency relationship between children and parents; we all need self-preservation as our primary drives, but adults can fend for themselves where as children cannot.

 The authority of parents is TEMPORARY; Eventually children grow up and are able to fend for themselves; childhood is a transition to self-sufficiency; and once transition is completed the authority of the parent ends.

 Age of minority, age of majority- minors are held to different legal standards than adults; so it is only as a minor that paternal authority is even justified at all; but problem still bc even then monarch is not the subjects parent.

 We need transparency (wiki leaks example; up to us to look at material and make our own decisions, if transparent and open the truth will rise to the top) – but paternalistic there is a type of censorship of holding back the truth for security, etc.

B. Scriptural-by branch; 3 types of power discussed in 1st treatise;

1. power by beginning- power gets passed to your children

2. Succession- grant; doesn’t have to be son- Adam was granted authority and dominion by God, so he can grant his successor; How do we know who the legitimate successor is? & God gave us dominion ship yes, but we also have to be good stewards; we don’t have unlimited power and authority of being a good steward; steward looks out for best interest of citizen- B/C- Locke claims that God gave the earth and everything in it to us and all of us in common, just so happened Adam was the first one- What about Eve? Locke challenges Adam’s dominion over Eve.

 Adam has conjugal power over Eve, not political power; monarch claims political power- problems with justifying political power based on scripture

3. Contractual form of power-justifies political power

Political Power- the power of life or death; the right to make laws for the protection and regulation of property; these laws are backed by the community, for the public good.

“RIGHT of making laws with penalties of death, and consequently all less penalties, for the regulating and preserving of property, and of employing the force of the community, in the execution of such laws, and in the defence of the common-wealth from foreign injury; and all this only for the public good.”

• Locke: Contractual power (Social Contract) justifies political power- the notion of contract in power dates back to Plato (The Republic)

State of Nature/ State of War-

• Hobbes- state of nature= State of War bc out for self-preservation and we have no concern for others; not for Locke though.

• Locke- Natural instincts of ppl= state of nature: a state of equality in which no one has power over another, and all are free to do as they please; can’t abuse others though bc natural law exists.

 Each individual in the state of nature has the power to execute natural laws, which are universal.

 natural law- even though a person cannot reasonably be under the power of a foreign king, if a person commits a crime in a foreign country they can still be punished.; natural law simply demands that punishment fit the crime--a person in the state of nature can redress any crime to discourage the offender from repeating it. Locke concludes by noting that all people are in a state of nature until a special compact or agreement between them makes them members of a political society.

 is to avoid the state of war that often occurs in the state of nature, and to protect their private property that men enter into civil or political society.

Limits to punishment- recognize harms being done and we recognize a right to be whole for that harm and to punish, however without appealing to a judge, we are the judge, jury, and_____ . The key to get out of the state of war is some sort of impartial judgment of the person who was harmed/ did the harming.

• Kant- a state founded on law helped create a peaceful state

Restrictions to Property (Proviso)- 3 restrictions in state of nature

• Communal property = only take what you need, do not waste the gift of God.

1. one may only appropriate as much as one can use before it spoils

2. one must leave “enough and as good” for others (the sufficiency restriction)

3. one may (supposedly) only appropriate property through one's own labor

• patents, etc.

Prerogative Power- “the power of doing public good without a rule”

• act in good will of the people; exercising powers outside of the law- It’s okay.

• The executive is qualified to take actions that are outside the framework of the laws (not breaking them, just not provided for by them), if their actions advance the society's best interest

• Force & extra-legal force is justified if it is in line with social contract

• executive prerogative is not a right, but a duty of the executive, and