Political theory Flashcards
(33 cards)
what are Hobbes 3 premise for state of nature?
- basic equality
- moderate egoism
- relative scarcity
what are John Lockes premise for state of nature?
- normative equality (we ought to be equal in rights)
- naturally moral
- relative abundance of resources
what are John Lockes premise for state of nature?
- normative equality (we ought to be equal in rights)
- naturally moral
- relative abundance of resources
how does society go from state of nature to political society?
in order to escape state of nature, we agree to alienate out power and create a powerful sovereign who will maintain order and we will obey
How does Hobbes explain the change to political society?
the problem in SON is you don’t know if you have been treated unjust, so law tells you what’s unjust. creation of absolute sovereign
how does Locke explain the change to political society?
we maintain personal freedom by having authority that is created by the people, can’t be oppressed by rule which has been consented to
How do Hobbes and Lockes views differ on state of nature?
for Hobbes: the SON is so bad we have to avert the war of all against all, we should create absolute sovereign
For Locke: SON is not as bad, only agree to a sovereign that would strengthen and protect natural rights
what is the social contact?
citizens agree to trade natural liberty for the benefits of political society. Hobbes argues we trade all our liberty, whilst Locke argues we trade enough to strengthen rights
what does John Locke say on consent?
we can only be obligated to act within the law if we consent to take that obligation.
others cannot bind us, only we can we also cant give ourselves up
what are the objections to nature of consent?
- there are obligations that aren’t taken on by consent e.g we obey our parents because they are our parents.
- we never actually give our consent
what is Tacit consent?
you indicate your agreement to be governed by your continued acceptance of the benefits you receive. its silent consent
what is hypothetical consent?
you would consent, if you were in the SON and acting rationally, this is what justifies the state.
Is this consent??
what was the leviathan Hobbes book was about?
named after a monster in the bible
what is the state of nature for Hobbes?
life without political authority, no state control. in this state human life is “nasty, brutish and short”.
it becomes state of war
in Hobbes state of war what are the three main causes of conflict?
- competition: people desire the same things people envy
- diffidence: mutual distrust suggest pre-emptive strike
- glory: not just desires fulfilled but desire to win
what is Hobbes social contract?
we give up our freedoms for protection of property, proposes absolute monarchy
what are some criticisms of Hobbes state of nature?
- people aren’t as bad as Hobbes suggest
- they’d fear reprisals, if I steal someone might steal from me
- they’d respect people rights
- the faults Hobbes identifies are the product of political authority and wouldn’t exist in SON, the govt encourages competition
what is direct democracy?
people directly and freely vote on a question or issue e.g referendum
what is representative democracy?
the electorate elect a representative to act on their behalf to make informed decisions
what is party democracy?
parties often decide the representatives that stand for election. parties may enter coalitions and so people will get a party they may not have voted for
why is John Locke skeptical of direct democracy?
believed it gives too much power to the people who may not be well informed or care about voting
what is the wisdom of the crowds?
politics is difficult and so is best to have all hands on deck when trying to find answers, ideas should be a collective
what is the non-expert demos?
politics involves difficult issues which requires expertise, why would the common people have expertise
what could be an example of the non-expert demos?
brexit referendum decision was made on slogans, false promises, lies and misinformation
