Locke's Theory of Resistance

Locke's Theory of Resistance

Introduction

This essay focuses attention on the political philosophy of John Locke [1632 to 1704], set out by him at length in The Second Treatise of Government, originally published in 1689, but almost certainly written during late 1682 and early 1683 [1].

Locke assumes that people must have found it to be necessary to establish political societies when the concepts of meum and tuum first entered their vocabulary, and differences then began to arise within the body of the people concerning the question of ownership and distribution of material goods. He also assumed that we have the freedom, and thus the right, to dispose of, within the bounds of the laws of nature, those properties which are intrinsic to our personalities, and in particular our lives and liberties. There is a corresponding assumption that the fundamental justification of government lies in its capacity to preserve the natural rights of its citizens and, in particular, their untrammelled enjoyment of their lives, liberties and property.

In the Two Treatises of Government Locke not only vindicates the lawfulness of resistance, in the language of rights and natural rights, but goes on to locate the authority to resist with the body of the people even with 'any single man, if deprived of their right [2].

The basic claim is that any ruler who subverts the law, as a clearly defined legal authority, asserts and exercises both absolute and arbitrary power, or deliberate action for private ends. Lawful action is that which is reasonable, based on consensus, and taken exclusively for the preservation of the public good. But the relation between positive law and the demands of the preservation of society, is no less amb...

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...t is still justified, despite a lack of erstwhile vigilance, although we must expect that late and limited action may prove to be unsuccessful. It is the default of government that justifies resistance and, hence, legitimate resistance is dependent upon an accurate, timely and just assessment of government's actions.

BIBLIOGRAPHY & SOURCES

Boucher, David Kelley, Paul The Social Contract from Hobbes to Rawls London 1994.

Grant, Ruth W John Locke's Liberalism Chicago 1987.

Locke, John (Ed. Mark Goldie) Two Treatises of Government London 1993

Marshall, John John Locke Resistance, Religion and Responsibility Cambridge 1994

Singer, Peter Democracy and Disobedience Oxford 1973.

Singer, Quentin The Foundations of Modern Political Thought Volume Two: The Age of Reformation Cambridge, 1978

Yolton, John W A Locke Dictionary Oxford 1993