John Locke

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  • John Locke
    • Prior to Government Locke imagines a state of nature
      • Thus everyone is free and equal
      • Everyone is bound by the law of nature
        • Self-preservation
          • Preserving others lives if it does not conflict with preserving your own
    • Freedom
      • Freedom is not just power
      • Don't have liberty to destroy himself or any other creature
    • Equality
      • Not based on our capability or vulnerability to attack
      • 'Born to all the same advantages of nature'.
      • 'Should also be equal amongst one another without subordination or subjection
    • Theological Foundations
      • Like Hobbes, appeals to natural reason
      • Adam received the earth on behalf of all humanity
      • God created all people as naturally free and independent
      • There is no natural subordination
      • In a state of nature all are free
    • Natural Law
      • No one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions
      • There cannot be any such supposed subordination between us
      • Ought he as much as he can to preserve the rest of man kind
      • Law of nature 1) Obliges everyone
      • 3) declares all to be equal and free
      • 4) We are forbidden from harming each other
      • 5) required to preserve ourselves and others
      • We do this because we are all the workmanship of God
      • This is the 'fundamental law'.
    • Theoretical affinity with  Individualist anarchism
      • Radical extension of classical liberalism
      • State of Nature is full of inconveniences however:
        • Lacks a judge to settle disputes
        • Lacks a mean of enforcing law of nature
      • Solution: Leaving state of nature to enter into a civil society
      • But with limited government and one that protects natural rights to life liberty and property
      • Locke = Interested in what makes a government legit
        • Absolute monarchy = illegitimate
          • Monarch has more power than can be rightly given
          • Makes people worse off

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