Social Contract Theory

Transcription

1 Social Contract Theory A government is legitimate if people would voluntarily submit to its authority Central idea: government (and its authority) are rational

2 The Choice Imagine two situations: Government (the state) No government (the state of nature) Which would you choose?

3 Locke s Answer You would choose government It would be rational for you to choose government That rational,voluntary choice makes government authority legitimate

4 John Locke Rationality justifies government But also limits its authority

5 Why choose government? What is the state of nature like?

6 The State of Nature Thomas Hobbes: a war of every man against every man in which life is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short Where there is no law, there is no injustice

7 Locke s state of nature Equality of power and jurisdiction Declaration of Independence: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. Liberty, not license

8 Locke s state of nature Law of nature: no one ought to harm another is his life, health, liberty, or possessions

9 Locke s state of nature You have natural rights in the state of nature: Rights to life, health, liberty, and property Right of self-preservation Right to execute the law of nature Not a state of war

10 Natural Rights Life, health, liberty, and property Cf. the U.S. Constitution: nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. (14th Amendment)

11 Property v. Pursuit of Happiness Declaration of Independence: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

12 Private Protective Associations In the state of nature, you would find ways of protecting yourself Private Protective Associations: posses, vigiliantes, security guards Is that enough?

13 Locke s Social Contract Problem: finding an impartial arbitrator who shall be judge? You would give up Your right to execute the law of nature You gain Impartial judgment

14 Natural and social rights Rights to life, health, liberty, and property are natural you have them in the state of nature You do not give them up in the social contract You can t give them up Slavery would be wrong even if voluntary

15 Voluntary Slavery Hobbes thinks you would give up liberty even to an absolute monarch But, for Locke, that would be like selling yourself into slavery You can t surrender your rights to life, liberty, and property But you can be placed under laws that limit them (taxation, punishment)

16 Locke on Rights All substantive rights are general rights They follow from your right to selfpreservation => your rights to life, health, liberty, and property All positive rights are procedural rights to a fair, speedy, public trial, to a trial by jury, to confront your accuser, etc.

17 Freedom under government: Republican ideal To have settled rules In common Made by a legislature duly erected

18 Freedom under government: Republican ideal To follow my will where the rule is silent (10th Amendment: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. ) Not to be subject to the arbitrary will of another

19 Locke on Property My body is and should be mine Labor theory: My body makes things mine Limits (in state of nature) Waste: I can own only what I can use Scarcity: There must be enough and as good left over for others

20 Money and Consent Allows greater accumulation and inequality I can gather more than I can use Waste is not an issue Neither is scarcity How is this inequality justified? By consent: use of money benefits all

21 Purpose of Government We consent to government to protect property (including life & liberty) Structure Legislature: Settled, known law Judiciary: Known and indifferent judge Executive: Administer and enforce law

22 Limits of Government Government must act for the common good Declaration: laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

23 Limits of Government U.S. Constitution, Preamble: We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

24 Limits of Government Government has power only by consent of the governed Declaration: That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

25 Limits of Government Consent expressed in majority rule Legislature must not transfer power (accountability & consent)