John Locke was largely ignored during his life. His legacy begins with the American Revolution. The colonies, disaffected by British rule, quoted Locke often and internalised his timeless exaltation of constitutional government and consent of the governed. Thomas Jefferson relied heavily on John Locke when drafting the Declaration of Independence. In France, Locke deeply influenced many of the philosophes, most notably Voltaire, whose ideas fomented the French Revolution.
If I had to choose a favourite historical figure, or a person who has inspired me the most, I would choose Locke. His contributions to political philosophy form the basis of constitutional democracy and liberal theory. No person has contributed more to the core principles that underline democratic governance than Locke. What a legacy.
But what do you think, NS? How well do you know John Locke? Have you read any of his works? Do you appreciate his understanding of government and human nature? Do you believe Locke is still relevant today?
Locke's contributions lie primarily in two fields: epistemology and political philosophy. Let's briefly explore both.
Epistemology of John Locke
Let us then suppose the mind to be, as we say, white paper, void of all characters, without any ideas:- How comes it to be furnished? Whence comes it by that vast store which the busy and boundless fancy of man has painted on it with an almost endless variety? Whence has it all the materials of reason and knowledge? To this I answer, in one word, from EXPERIENCE. - Book II, Chapter 1 An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
Locke was an empiricist. He believed that all human knowledge originated from experience, a theory he developed in his masterpiece An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Locke dismantled the Cartesian notion that some ideas were already implanted in man's mind, ideas that Descartes reasoned could be realised through rationalisation. Instead, Locke argued that all ideas come either from sensation, or the inputs of the body's senses, and reflection, which Locke defined as the "notice which the mind takes of its own operations." According to Locke, reflection first gives way to perception, which informs our understanding of the world around us. According to Locke, humans build complex ideas through simple ideas, which are not actively generated but instead passively grafted from experience. Locke explains: "In this faculty of repeating and joining together its ideas, the mind has great power in varying and multiplying the objects of its thoughts, infinitely beyond what sensation or reflection furnished it with."
The important takeaway here is that Locke believes that all truths are discoverable by the mind of man. Locke even posited that man could reasonably deduce the existence of God from his own experience alone. Furthermore, because all knowledge comes from our experience and not from immutable truths implanted in us, all our knowledge must therefore be falsifiable. The doctrine of falsibility would go on to be extremely influential in the sciences.
Political philosophy of John Locke
Reason, which is that law, teaches all mankind, who will but consult it, that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions - Chapter 2, sec. 6 Second Treatise of Government
Locke reasoned that all original societies lived in a state of nature, or "a state of perfect equality." In this state of nature all mankind possessed inalienable rights—chiefly life, liberty and estates—and all were obliged to follow the law of nature, which according to Locke "willeth the peace and preservation of all mankind." Locke goes on to explain that all men were entitled to the full excercise of their liberties provided that they did not impinge on the liberties of others: "Though man in that state have an uncontrolable liberty to dispose of his person or possessions, yet he has not liberty to destroy himself, or so much as any creature in his possession, but where some nobler use than its bare preservation calls for it." According to Locke, all individuals living in the state of nature had the right to enforce the law of nature and protect themselves from those who would harm them. Locke explains that when someone breaks with the law of nature, he declares himself to be in a state of war with mankind, and thus any man in the state of nature is entitled to restrain him or, if need be, kill him. Locke explains: "Thus it is, that every man, in the state of nature, has a power to kill a murderer, both to deter others from doing the like injury, which no reparation can compensate."
Locke admits that the violence and lawlessness of the state of nature is sometimes distasteful, as well as the conundrum of having men be judges in their own cases. For this reason, Locke reasoned that men would come together to form a government for the protection of their rights. Locke says, "When any number of men have so consented to make one community or government, they are thereby presently incorporated, and make one body politic, wherein the majority have a right to act and conclude the rest."
Crucially, Locke notes that the body politic may only exist if it enjoys the confidence of the people whom it represents: "Governments can originally have no other rise than that before mentioned, nor polities be founded on anything but the consent of the people." He suggests that unanimous consent is ideal, but since people can never agree, majority consent will suffice. The character of the government did not really matter much to Locke; he suggested that the people could place their consent in a monarchy, an oligarchy, or a democracy, or a mixed system.
Locke distinguished between three powers: legislative, executive and federative. Executive powers describe the power of executing laws within a country, while federative powers entail waging war and foreign policy. Locke noted that the legislative was superior to both the executive and federative powers, because it enjoyed the direct confidence of the people and was the only power that could instigate laws. While the legislative is powerful, Locke placed clear limits on the exercise of its authorities. For example, Locke declares that the government cannot rule extemporaneously or by decree and must instead observe codified statues. Furthermore, he says that the legislative may not levy taxes without popular consent: "It [the legislative] may have power to make laws for the regulating of property between the subjects one amongst another, yet can never have a power to take to themselves the whole, or any part of the subjects’ property, without their own consent."
A less discussed facet of Locke's work is his just war theory as applied to nations. Locke is deeply moralistic about foreign policy, believing that violence towards another is only permitted in the name of self defence or the defence of the law of nature, and he denied conquerors the right to the spoils or the lands which they unjustly conquered. Locke suggests that the victors in a conflict, provided that they are acting in self-defence, retain despotical, or absolute, power over the aggressors, which includes the right to kill them. However, Locke maintained that this principle of despotical power did not apply to non-combatants: "I say, then, the conqueror gets no power but only over those who have actually assisted, concurred, or consented to that unjust force that is used against him."
I have tried to touch on the core principles of Locke's political philosophy. But I'm also leaving out a lot, like the religious toleration expressed in his A Letter Concerning Toleration.
