Week 3: Locke & Bentham Flashcards
STATE OF NATURE
State of Nature: The hypothetical life of people before societies “came into existence”. A state of “absolute” freedom.
Locke: “Men, living according to reason, without a common superior on earth, to judge between them, is properly the state of nature.”
CIVIL SOCIETY
“So the end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom. For in all the states of created beings capable of laws, where there is no law, there is no freedom.”
THE FOUNDATION OF MORALITY AND GOVERNMENT
Locke believes that people are made equal, rational and free.
Natural rights and laws are simply universal self-evident truths.
- Natural rights: Right to life, liberty and property.
- Natural laws: Duties to not kill, enslave and steal.
Political governance is ..
the transfer of rights to the government in order to ensure enjoyment of life, liberty
and property.
Government & Separation of Powers
Legislative power involves specifying and explaining how to apply the natural laws.
Legislative power must contain an assembly of elected representatives.
Executive power interprets the law in light of its understanding of the natural laws.
If the government suppresses the natural rights the community has a right and an obligation to revolt.
THE SUPREME PRINCIPLE OF MORALITY
Bentham: “The greatest happiness of the greatest number is the measure of right and wrong.”
Pain and Pleasure
- pain and pleasure are described as the “sovereign masters” governing mankind.
- They dictate what actions we should take and determine our behavior.
- Pain and pleasure serve as the standards for determining right and wrong.
- they are linked to the chain of causes and effects, influencing the outcomes of our actions.
NATURAL LAW VS POSITIVE LAW
Bentham says that natural rights are “simple nonsense: natural and imprescriptible rights, rhetorical nonsense, – nonsense upon stilts.”
Positive law:
- Positive law refers to the legal framework enforced by a government at a specific time and place. It is established by proper authority to govern a society.
Only positive rights, those established and enforced by government, have “any determinate and intelligible meaning.”
Rights are “the fruits of the law, and of the law alone. There are no rights without
law–no rights contrary to the law–no rights anterior to the law.”
John Locke: Libertarianism
- Focus on rights, ownership and property
- Rejects paternalism, moral legislation, and wealth redistribution.
- Advocates for free markets and views taxation as forced labor.
–> do what respects human freedom and self-ownership.
–> is centered on the individual human beings and their dignity and freedom, but not necessarily on their happiness.
PROBLEMS WITH LIBERTARIANISM
- It has shifted from a focus on human rights to protecting the privileges of the powerful.
- Libertarians (conveniently) forget that self-ownership and value are social constructs.
- Society is key to wealth creation
–> Libertarians often overlook power imbalances.
What is freedom?
To which extent is an individual’s choice free?
To which extent is their choice determined by necessity?
Historical Notion of Property by John Locke:
- Land ownership comes from farming and enclosing land.
- Wasting land is seen as bad.
- Used to justify taking land from Native Americans.
Jeremy Bentham: Utilitarianism
- Focuses on maximizing overall happiness and minimizing harm.
- Evaluates actions based on their consequences.
- Founded by Jeremy Bentham, who stated, “It is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong.”
Utilitarianism and Libertarianism Similarities:
- Both reject dogmatic views.
- Grounded in rationalism.
- Utilitarianism emphasizes maximizing happiness/utility, while libertarianism prioritizes individual freedom.
