Term Paper on "John Locke Believes That the Wealthy"

Term Paper 6 pages (2156 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

John Locke believes that the wealthy should have the majority of political power in a civil society, that those without property have no need of political power and that the authority of the government comes from the consent of the governed. Society was created, according to Locke's theories to make the existence of property possible, and to protect it from quarrelsome and contentious persons who might otherwise try to take property by force. In the absence of the modern concept of property, Locke argues there would be little need for government or society. Locke builds on these points to conclude that people with property require and deserve a voice in government, while those without property have no need for political authority. The opportunity must be available for gain property, and therefore political power. Locke says that political authority to govern comes from the consent of the governed. People with property are naturally likely to try to keep property out of the hands of others so that they have more opportunity to increase their own property and power. Those with property and political power consent to sharing it with each other, but people without property find it consistently harder to gain property due to their lack of political power. The result is that gaining property, and therefore political power is only easy for those who already have it. Locke's theories were radical when they were published. The prevailing opinion of the time was that kings had a divine right to rule. Locke argued against the divine right of kings during the exclusion crisis.

In a state of nature, without society or government, Locke argues that an item becomes property when someone mixes his labor with it, adding value. (II S. 27) for anyone to take an amount substantially beyond his needs would be wasteful because he could not use it, nor hold a substantial amount of it to trade with others. Most items that were of value to a primitive man spoil over time, and require a large amount of space to store. It is difficult for any man to keep substantially more of these kinds of items than he can use himself. In order for people to be able to own substantially more property than is useful for their own use, a common currency is required. (II S. 36) With an easily stored item that never decays declared valuable, individuals were free to obtain as much property as they could sell to others. The desire to have more property than necessary, which requires a common currency is the beginning of civil society.

The introduction of money creates the modern idea of property, where a single man can own far more property than could be useful to him directly, or to his family. Out of the agreement to place value on a common currency comes a society. Outside of society, currency is worthless. Money is not suitable for eating, wearing, drinking or building shelters. It is only suitable for trading with other people for more useful items. Government comes from the consent of the people to an arrangement to protect that common wealth. The introduction of money also creates more incentive for someone to steal another's property. In a state of nature, an individual may resist attempts to take his property, but will fail if the thief is stronger or more clever. He might try to apprehend and punish the thief, but again, he can only do so if he is more able than the thief. Locke says individuals create civil societies in order to delegate this task of protecting the common wealth to a larger community, which is more able to do so. (II S. 87)

The right of the government to govern comes, according to Locke from the consent of those being governed. People are willing to give up some of their rights in a state of nature in order to gain the ability to obtain additional property, and to protect their property from those who would take it. According to Locke's theory, people who own property are the people who need to have political power in a society. People with property are the ones with something to lose, and are therefore in need of the protection offered by a society. It is, in fact the people with property who form societies, according to Locke. Those without property have little need or desire to give up their rights in order to join a civil society.

Locke believes those without property do not need to have a voice in civil society. He has a naive belief that such a system is fair because everyone has the opportunity to gain property. In a state of nature, it is probably true that everyone has a nearly equal opportunity to acquire property, however in a civil society this is far from the case. Those who have property, and therefore political power use it to keep everyone else from gaining power. People with power have little motivation to share it, however they have substantial motivation to use their political power to acquire more property. The resulting society results in the creation of two classes of people: those with property and political power, and those without it. (Marx Chapter 1) While property seems like a rational justification to property owners such as Locke, people without property might see things differently. In the years following the publication of Locke's Two Treatises of Civil Government, European society did become more clearly based on property and less on heredity. Nearly 170 years later, Karl Marx observes that property owners control society to such an extent that the only way for non-property owners to survive is to work for the property owners. The ability to mix one's labor with unowned property in order to claim it is gone because wealthy property owners have claimed all the property.

Locke's argument for social contract theory is strengthened by the fact that he considers the overthrow of a government that is not upholding its side of the contract to be a valid action on the part of the citizens. (II S. 222) Locke fails to provide adequate explanation, however for why a social contract should be binding upon anyone who has not explicitly accepted it. Modern states automatically make newborns citizens when they are born within the boundaries of the state. (Gregmcpherson) Unless certain theories regarding reincarnation are correct, an individual has no choice about when and where he is born, so he cannot give consent to the social contract he is bound by from birth. Rejection of a social contract is nearly impossible. One option is to move to another nation state and become a citizen by explicitly accepting its social contract. While this is the most commonly excersized option, it is only possible for someone wealthy enough to afford such a move and attractive enough to another nation state. Most states will not offer citizenship to random foreigners. Only those who are well educated or have a valuable skill have a high probability of gaining citizenship in most countries.

Rebellion is the only option for most people who would reject a social contract. Most people are familiar with the violent form of rebellion; citizens, unwilling to accept the rule of the government use force to overthrow it. Violent rebellion is generally dealt with most harshly by governments, with the usual end result being the death of the rebels. Most people find an option that usually results in death very unattractive. Non-violent rebellion, or civil disobedience has become popular recently. Civil disobedience is the practice of ignoring or intentionally disobeying certain laws that the rebel considers unacceptable. In civil disobedience, the rebel does not actively resist attempts by the government to arrest him. The usual result is that he is arrested and punished for violating the law. Both violent revolution and non-violent civil disobedience have been successful in trying to replace or reform governments. The U.S. civil rights movement used civil disobedience very effectively to combat racial discrimination. (Viriditas) History has many examples of successful violent revolutions. Rebellion is not a viable option for most people who would like to reject a social contract. A successful rebellion requires a large enough percentage of the population that the government cannot easily imprison or kill all the rebels.

Even with a theoretical ability to rebel against the government, a social contract that is not explicitly accepted by citizens is little more than coersion with an elaborate phillosophical justification. The relationship between a government and a citizen by birth who has not explicitly accepted a social contract is a state of war; the government is attempting to assert absolute power over him without his consent. (II S. 17) Having the consent, or at least passive acceptance of a majority of citizens, the government is free to make war upon the remaining citizens at will. Citizens without property are at especially high risk under Locke's theories, as they do not have a right to political… READ MORE

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