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Book No. – 3 (Political Science – Western Political Thought)
Book Name – Western Political Thought (OP Gauba)
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John Locke
Chapter – 9
General Introduction
John Locke (1632-1704), a late seventeenth-century English philosopher, is regarded as the father of liberalism.
He was the son of a parliamentarian and experienced strict discipline in childhood, but also a reasonable amount of freedom.
Studied at Oxford, where he encountered the philosophy of René Descartes and the scientific work of Robert Boyle.
Worked as a minor diplomat, tutor to Lord Ashley (later Earl of Shaftesbury), and Secretary to the Council of Trade and Plantations.
Traveled extensively across Europe during his career.
Major works include Two Treatises of Civil Government (1689-90), An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690), and Thoughts on Education (1693).
According to C.B. Macpherson, Locke was at the fountain-head of English Liberalism.
M. Seliger describes Locke as the first to elaborate modern liberalism as a comprehensive and influential system of thought.
Locke’s core beliefs closely align with basic tenets of liberalism:
Man is by nature a rational being.
Human reason is superior to knowledge derived from history.
Recognition of the natural rights of man.
Private property is the epitome of individual rights protected by natural law.
The social contract is the juridical basis of the state.
Civil society is an artificial contrivance created for human convenience.
Political authority is not indivisible, and people have the right to resist established political power.
In the First Treatise of Civil Government (1689), Locke refuted the divine right of kings theory proposed by Robert Filmer.
In the Second Treatise (1690), he argued that humans are equal by nature, and no one can be subjected to another’s authority without consent.
Locke distinguished political authority from other relations of dominance, such as master-servant, man-wife, parent-child, and victor-vanquished.
Other relationships are limited to particular functions or circumstances, whereas political authority has a broader scope and is not analogous to these relations.