Born in Wrington, Somerset, near Bristol, in 1632 in the heart of a Puritan family. He was raised hard fourteen years in his own family circle, a small oasis of peace in a lawless country, which would soon fall into civil war. It is considered the leading theorist of liberalism. His insistence on respect certain individual plots makes him a clear prelude to the bourgeois mentality and anti-statist, but its findings are also working on the foundation of any social theorizing. "
John Locke defines the state of nature as a state of peace, benevolence and mutual aid.
He believed that in the state of nature men should enjoy perfect freedom to order their actions and dispose of their possessions and persons as they thought best, within the limits of natural law, without asking permission and without relying the will of another person "·
The fundamental right to freedom that follows from the intentions of the Creator and the need for self-preservation knows no other limit than the Natural Law. This law governs the state of nature and must be understood as a manifestation of the will of God, teaches that one ought to harm another in his life, health and freedom. Thus, all men are endowed with reason and free enough to know a world order that leads to cooperate with the preservation of their rights.
For Locke by reason known to man Natural Law and therefore he has the right to impose on others their compliance. You have the right to punish transgressors of the law with a punishment that would prevent their violation. " Warns that the state of nature "a man gets power over gold or absolute arbitrary power not to treat the criminal (...) following the passionate ardor or unlimited extravagance of his own will." Locke believes that this punishment should be proportionate to his transgression, according to rule on the reason and conscience, that is, a sentence that serves to repair the damage and repression.
The proviso that man when he interprets the law to own affairs becomes the judge and jury "the pride that these men will judge with bias in favor of themselves and their friends. On the other hand, dislike, passion and revenge will drag too far to the punishment inflicted on others, and may not be all this confusion and disorder, therefore, no doubt, God had to fix a power that would avoid bias and violence of men. " From here strives to make a difference between the state of nature and the state of war, although many scholars, does not achieve this goal.
It seems inevitable that the state of nature becomes a destructive state, for violating the Natural Law there is no mechanism to restore order. Locke recognizes that men violate the Natural Law, as "not strictly complied with the mandates of fairness and justice, it is very unsafe and poorly safeguarded the enjoyment of the goods that each has in this state". It follows from man's need to establish themselves in society. The natural condition that is the man "is very free to be plagued by constant surprises and dangers. They have reasons to seek out the same and voluntarily enter into partnership with other men who are already united, or have In order to unite for mutual protection of their lives, liberties, and land, all which included within the generic name of goods or property. " .
Locke emphasizes that the purpose of civil society is to avoid and overcome the disadvantages of the state of nature that inevitably occur when each man is judge of his own case. " Only when a group of men united in society giving each of them, the power to execute the natural law, transferring it to the community, only then is a political or civil society " This group of men to live in a state of nature and should be combined to form one people, one body politic under one government, or when someone joins or incorporated into any government and constitution.
"That fact allows the company or, what is, to its legislative power to make laws on their behalf as appropriate to the public good of society and to play whenever you require their own assistance (as if it were his own opinions). That's what brings people of a state of nature and places them in a civil society, ie to establish the fact in this world a judge with authority to decide all disputes and repair all the damage suffered any member of the same ".
In conclusion, people who live together, forming one body, governed by common law and enacted a judicial body to turn to, with authority to decide disputes between them and punish those responsible, live in civil society with each others. Men who have no one to appeal to continue living in the state of nature in the absence of a judge become judges and executioners themselves, since it has been shown that this is the perfect state of nature.
For the formation of these laws that should govern society, Locke argues that the theory of separation of powers, three powers exercising sovereign power. Legislative power is one that has the right to designate the force should be used as the political community and the members thereof. Stresses the need exist, and federal executive to look after the continuous application of the law. "These two powers are really distinct in themselves, but despite one of them covers the law enforcement community of the society within it and all when the up and the other is responsible for the safety and interests of the people on the outside as to who may be helpful or hurt, it happens that almost always seem to be united. "
Locke is inclined to the view of the rigorous subordination of power to the legislature, and the latter delegated to the popular will, which retains the permanent right of control over their effective exercise of power, to protect itself against possible freedom illegal excesses. Facing a possible constitutional abuse Locke gives the people a kind of right of revolution.This right is exercised in extreme cases, where it is impossible for other means to restore the normal order of things. If the main purpose of civil society is the safeguarding of property, the body that runs.
Constitute the most important body of society. That is the legislative branch. Locke considered the 2alma that shapes, life and unity to the political community and calls it "supreme power", but has restrictions. You can not change the laws to apply to specific cases and rules alone pursue the good of the community, ie, can not violate natural rights "natural law remains as eternal standard of all men without exception for legislators."
Locke justifies it to enter into the civil society "driven by the urge to protect what is his property" to set a delegate legislative power and their rights do so with the purpose "there are still laws and rules come to be as guardians fencing and the properties of the whole society (...) Thus, then, that if lawmakers try to seize or remove property of the people, or reduce the members of the slavery of arbitrary power is placed at war with the people (...) The people have the right to regain their freedom early and through the establishment of a new legislature (which creates more convenient) to provide for their own safety and security, ie the purpose for which they are achieving in society. "
Private property and their defense are excluded from the content of the covenant of government as a natural right and they are not negotiable. The property is the first property that the state must protect. "We have, therefore, that the principal purpose of seeking maximum and men to meet in state or community, undergoing a government is to safeguard their property, this safeguard is incomplete in the state of nature." Says is necessary to create laws for the protection of private property, but warns that the state of nature, these laws are very clear, but "men brought their own interest, or ignorant for lack of consideration of it "These laws do not recognize when their own interests at stake.
For Locke the man to give up political power it has in the state of nature and give to society (to the rulers who have chosen) or do so with the mission "... explicit or implicit use it for the sake of members of society and safeguarding of their property (...) can not therefore in any way and in an absolute and arbitrary, extend that power into their lives and their properties, however, must be defended and kept as far as possible. " The defense of private property as a natural law that the state Constitution should protect Locke directly related to work, and that through this man take things the state of nature and makes instruments to meet human need.
The property is the fundamental institution of the state of nature. He explains that every man is proprietary Natural Law and therefore your body works with this place "so, whenever someone takes a thing of the state in which nature produced it and left, that thing has been something (...) your effort and therefore has become something of yours." And as it quotes many examples like water from a spring that is of all men, but who would doubt that the collection belongs in a container that filled it.
In this way the work becomes a source of property rights, encompassing not only consumer goods but the means of production such as land, provided it is worked by man. "The amount of land that a man works, plant breeding, cultivation and whose products are able to utilize, is the measure of their property." Notes except that the man has the natural right to possess only that they need, who takes possession of perishable goods and we use them violates natural law, though he admits the possibility of changing these goods for others that might be retained as metals.
To further safeguard the property men accept civil society, gives up his own defense. By consenting to be part of a civil society, may be implied, involved in a deal that creates society, making them relinquish the powers they had in the state of nature. Since then the society will protect it through should enact laws which it considers necessary for the good of society and punishing those who violate.
The transmission functions both as rights to the society is characterized by the compliance and limitation. The delivery man waiting for individual rights to make profits, the company receives these rights and turn them over to the government, which becomes trustee of the society, in the same way as this one is the subject. Thus begins a relationship of trust with the government, hoping that pursues the good of the community. Violate the agreement can terminate the term.
Unlike Locke well the authority of a parent of a son of a master over the slave, but the obligation to obey the sovereign subject of the contract comes as recognized. The only way to allow the standing is by consent of those over whom power is exercised, the origin of civil society must be the express or tacit pact "between those who agreed. "It is true that the individual passes in the partnership agreement to the sovereign rights, but not for the defeat, but to defend them or protect them. If the individual is protected against attacks by their fellow citizens, but not against the caprice of the sovereign , it would seem the fool who defends foxes and martens, but leaves attacked by the lion. "(Manual of the History of Philosophy of Johann Fischl).
The assumption of natural freedom takes Locke to see any real and apparent freedom leads to a hypothesis that explains exchange unforced social phenomena as a combination of explicit and implicit agreements. Supports the principle "that no man is subject to the will of another without his consent" and that "where there is agreement and slavery." Locke is strongly opposed to the arguments of absolute power, but loses some of its scholars social pervasiveness and would defeat the altar of free trade that doubts the extent to which volunteers can be considered free and covenants made in situationimbalance of power and property.
The company cautions that while there is the power that every individual gave the joining of this can not be covered "but will always remain in the community, because without that there could be no political community, which would be contrary to the original agreement" .Moreover, when society has placed in an assembly of men the power to legislate, the legislature can not take the people as the government persists "because he had given to the legislature empowered to continue indefinitely.
The people have given up political power and can not back to retrieve it, instead of its existence if limited to legislative or it loses power for the fouls committed or simply marks the space designated "legislative power reverts to the society and the people have the right to act as sovereign, to retain for himself the legislature, giving otherwise, or to place, keeping the old, in other hands. As more conmveninete judge. "
