John Locke's philosophical contributions and influence

Criminal Justice - John Locke

SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORY and AMERICAN CRIMINAL JUSTICE

John Locke's Concept of Social Contract:

John Locke (1632-1704) published his theory of Social Contract in his Treatise on Civil Government in 1688, the same year of the so-called Glorious Revolution in England, so named for the bloodless overthrow of King James II and the assumption of the British throne by William III, formerly the Prince of Orange. Like Thomas Hobbes, Locke focused on the concept of Natural Rights as the precursor of modern social values and ideals. However, whereas Hobbes dismissed the importance of Social Contract in light of man's inability to keep manmade agreements, Locke maintained that nature was an imperfect state that required human constructs (i.e. social contracts) to improve human society for the benefit of everyone in society (Taylor, 1999). On the other hand, Locke presented a more optimistic view of human nature than man of his contemporaries, one that is more consistent with those of modern social theorists and moral philosophers (Kluger, 2007).

According to Locke, Natural Law provides that all men are naturally free to do as they wish, so long as their actions do not interfere with the same God-given rights of other individuals: "The state of nature has a law of nature to govern it which obliges everyone; and reason, which is the law, teaches all mankind who will but consult it. That being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life. Health, liberty, or possession" (Locke in Freidman, 2005). Locke suggested that natural law limits the amount of land and other natural resources that may be possessed morally by any individual to that which he may cultivate and exploit through his own efforts. In his view, exceeding this natural limitation is necessarily at the expense of the rights of others to benefit from the same natural resources (Taylor, 1999).

Locke believed that modern human societies evolved from prehistoric conjugal societies in which groups of related and unrelated extended families united their resources and manpower to protect their freedom and property from strangers and adversaries who threatened them. Those conjugal societies eventually produced political institutions through the process of leadership by consensus. According to Locke, one of the essential purposes of state authority is precisely, to preserve individual (natural) rights of everyone in society.

Through the voluntary exercise of social contract to appoint state representatives with authority over individuals in society, those social contracts provide everyone in society with benefits and protections that exceed those available in nature. Specifically, the social contract in modern society provides laws, judicial authorities to interpret and adjudicate those laws, and executive powers to enforce them and penalize those who fail to abide by them (Schmalleger, 2008).

Whereas other contemporary social theorists (like Hobbes) suggested that even imperfect political systems and state authorities still represented an improvement over the plight of man without any state authority to protect people from one another, Locke specifically argued that the morality and justness of state authority is a natural prerequisite for its legitimacy and continuation. Therefore, the people always maintain the (natural) right to overthrow any state authority that fails to act in the best interest of the people or that excuses itself from respecting the natural rights of the populace (Taylor, 1999).

The fundamental principles underlying Locke's theory of social contract and civil government are that (1) the primary purpose of state legislative authority is to ensure the protection of the natural rights of everyone in society and (2) the failure of holders of state judicial, legislative, and executive authority to uphold the obligations granted to them under social contracts is an outright breach of those contracts, justifying their recession, and the overthrow of unjust state authority, such as witnessed in England in 1688 (Taylor, 1999).

Parallels to Contemporary American Justice:

The most obvious parallels between Locke's theory of social contract and contemporary concepts of American justice is evidenced by Locke's articulation of natural rights as encompassing the rights against deprivation of life, health, liberty, or possessions. Generally, political historians regard this as the original basis of fundamental civil rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness detailed by the Founding fathers who drafted and ratified the U.S. Constitution after the successful American Revolution against British authority in the Colonies a century after Locke's Treatise on Civil Government (Freidman, 2005).