political philosophy 2

Hobbes State of nature

Man is naturally competitive, selfish, and fearful. The state of nature is an intolerable state of war.

Locke State of Nature

Man is naturally rational and social, bound by moral natural law. The state of nature is peaceful but inconvenient due to lack of an impartial judge

Rousseau State of Nature

Man is naturally innocent, solitary, compassionate (Pitié), and self-preserving (Amour de soi). Society corrupts natural goodness

Mill State of Nature

Focuses on human development in civil society, viewing humans as progressive beings whose capacities flourish through individual liberty

Hobbes on property

Property does not exist in nature; ownership is created entirely by the sovereign power.

Locke on Property

Property is a natural right prior to government, created when an individual mixes their labor with natural resources.

Rousseau on Property

Property is an artificial, corrupting invention that established division of labor, class conflicts, and moral inequality

Hobbes on Legitimacy of Political Authority

Authority is legitimate when an absolute sovereign secures physical peace and prevents civil war

Locke on Legitimacy of Political Authority

Authority is legitimate only when based on the consent of the governed to protect natural rights (life, liberty, estate)

Rousseau on Legitimacy of Political Authority

Historical government originated as a deceptive contract by the rich to protect wealth and enslave the poor

Mill on Legitimacy of Political Authority

Government and social authority are legitimate only when enforcing the Harm Principle to protect individuals from harm by others.

Hobbes on Resistance and Revolution

Denies right of revolution; rebellion returns society to the nightmare state of nature.

Locke on Resistance and Revolution

Fully defends Right of Revolution when government breaches public trust or violates natural rights.

Rousseau on Resistance and Revolution

Justifies resistance against arbitrary despotism, which violates human freedom and reduces subjects to slaves.

Mill on Resistance and Revolutionx

Defends individual dissent and resistance against majority conformity and state overreach.

Amour de soi

Rousseau's term for natural, healthy self-love focused on basic self-preservation without desire to harm others. (Food, health, sex)

Amour-propre

Rousseau's term for artificial, vanity-driven self-love that depends on comparative social status and opinion. (Wealth, honor, status)

Perfectibility (La Perfectibilité)

Rousseau's concept of humanity's innate faculty to alter and improve itself over time, leading both to progress and corruption. Wanting more and more

Pitié

Rousseau's concept of natural empathy to seeing another living creature suffer.

Harm Principle

Mill's principle that social or state coercion is justified strictly to prevent harm to others.

Tyranny of the Majority

Mill's concept of democratic majority consensus and social custom stifling individual expression and choice. (Because majority says that wearing blue is wrong, the people that want to wear blue do not wear blue even though they want to because they fear the majority that hates blue).

Dead Dogma vs. Living Truth

Mill's argument that uncontested truths lose their vitality and become unreasoned prejudices if not challenged by opposing views (Debates are good and he encourages conversation to happen because if not there is no point on having a "truth")

Lockean Provisos

Locke's rules limiting property accumulation: no spoilage and leaving 'enough and as good' for others.

Executive Power of Law of Nature

Locke's concept that every person in the state of nature has the right to enforce natural law and punish transgressors.

Executive Prerogative

Locke's concept of discretionary executive power to act for the public good during emergencies without or against express law. (Lincoln during the civil era)

Rejection of Filmer

Locke rejects Filmer's argument in Patriarcha that political authority stems from paternal authority granted to Adam by God. Filmer treated the state like a family, equating a king's rule to a father's authority. Locke separates the two, arguing that a father's power over children is temporary and distinct from political authority, which relies on the consent of free and equal individuals rather than subjection.

Locke State of War

Defined as force without right. Unlike Hobbes, Locke distinguishes the State of Nature from the State of War. War begins when someone shows a declared design of unlawful force upon another's life or liberty

Of Slavery (Ch. 4)

Freedom from absolute, arbitrary power is essential to self-preservation. Man cannot enslave himself by consent. EXCEPTIONS: Slavery is only legitimate as a continued state of war between a lawful conqueror and a captive and you can enslave the soldiers fighting an unjust war.

Labor Theory of Property

God gave the earth to mankind in common, but every person owns their own person and labor. By mixing labor with raw natural resources, one removes them from the common state and establishes private ownership

Lockean Limits

(1) Spoilage limit — Take only as much as can be used before it spoils.(2) Enough and As Good Proviso, Leave enough and as good in common for others.

Invention of Money

Money (gold and silver) is non-perishable, allowing tacit consent to unequal possessions without violating the spoilage limit. Locke describes money and its accumulation as a beneficial tool for human commerce and society.

Paternal vs. Political Power

Parental authority is temporary, based on the duty to educate children until they reach reason; it does not confer political jurisdiction.

Origin of Political Society

Individuals leave the state of nature by mutual consent to form a political community under majority rule (democracy) to safeguard life, liberty, and estate.

Extent of Legislative Power

Must govern by written stated laws, for the common good. Cannot tact without representation and cannot transfer itself

Dissolution of Government

Government dissolves when the legislative power is altered or breaches its trust by invading rights. Power reverts to the people, who hold the Right of Revolution.

Rousseau - Core Thesis

Man is naturally good, healthy and solitary, but civil society, private property and artificial social institutions corrupt human nature

Physical or Natural Inequality

Differences established by nature, such as age, health, bodily strength, and qualities of mind.

Moral or Political Inequality

Differences established by human convention, consent, or law, consisting of privileges enjoyed by some at the expense of others (e.g., wealth, honor, political power).

Physical State of Savage Man

Robust, agile, and well-adapted to his environment. He has few needs (food, a mate, rest) and lacks complex worries, fears of death or future anxieties.

Free Agency

Animals act purely on instinct; humans possess the capacity to choose or resist natural impulses

The Origin of Property

The first man who, having enclosed a piece of ground, bethought himself of saying This is mine, and found people simple enough to believe him, was the real founder of civil society.

Early Social Stages (The Golden Age)

As population grew and environmental challenges arose, humans formed temporary associations (hunting groups) and eventually settled huts/families. This intermediate period—between pure savagery and modern civil society—was the happiest era for humanity. (Hunting and gathering)

The Great Division of Labor (Metallurgy & Agriculture)

The discovery of iron working and farming required division of labor. Agriculture led to land cultivation, which naturally led to claims of private ownership over land. Natural inequalities in strength and skill led to unequal property accumulation

Emergence of Amour-Propre

Living in proximity caused humans to evaluate one another based on beauty, talent, and strength. This generated Amour-propre—an artificial, prideful self-love dependent on the opinion of others. Leads to envy, shame, vanity, deceit, and a desire to dominate others.

Deceptive Social Contract & State of War

As property expanded, the rich realized their holdings were insecure against bands of poor thieves - rich devised a clever strategy: they proposed a social contract to establish laws and government under the promise of protecting everyone equally

Deceptive Social Contract

this contract tricked the poor into accepting laws that permanently locked in property inequality: 'All ran headlong to their chains, thinking they were securing their freedom.'

The Three Stages of Political Inequality

Establishment of Law and Right of Property (Rich vs. Poor), Institution of the Magistracy / Government (Powerful vs. Weak), Conversion of Legitimate Power into Arbitrary Power (Master vs. Slave). Final Stage (Despotism): Arbitrary tyranny brings society full circle—all subjects become equal again because they all have zero rights under a despot.

Limits of Intervention

An individual cannot be compelled to act or refrain from acting because it will make them happier, healthier, or because others deem it wise/virtuous

Sovereignty of the Individual

'Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.' (Applies only to mature individuals in civilized societies).

Absolute Freedom of Opinion

Mill argues against suppressing any opinion, no matter how offensive or unconventional.

Four-Part Argument for Free Expression - If the suppressed opinion is true -

Society is deprived of the opportunity to exchange error for truth (Assumption of Infallibility by silencers)

Four-Part Argument for Free Expression - If the suppressed opinion is false

The true opinion loses the opportunity to be challenged, tested, and fully understood. Without clash with error, truth becomes a 'dead dogma' held as prejudice rather than rational conviction

Four-Part Argument for Free Expression - If the opinion contains a portion of truth (Most Common)

Popular opinion is rarely the whole truth; collision of conflicting views is the only way to synthesize the full truth.

Four-Part Argument for Free Expression - Loss of Vital Meaning

Uncontested beliefs lose their vital meaning and moral power, becoming mere formal rituals.

Value of Individuality

Human faculties (judgment, discrimination, moral preference) are developed only by making choices. Blindly following custom destroys individual agency.(Tradition is only good if you fully comprehend the tradition, and want to participate in it not just merely follow).

Character and Desires

Strong desires and personal impulses are not inherently evil; they are the raw material of human energy and genius.

Social Progress & Genius:

Originality and genius require freedom from societal conformity. Conformity makes a mediocre human civilization.

Self-Regarding

Actions that directly affect only the individual agent (or others with free consent). Society has NO right to intervene.

Other-Regarding Actions

Actions that violate a distinct, assignable obligation to others or cause direct harm to society. Society has legitimate authority to regulate or punish.

Distinction between Disapproval and Legal/Social Punishment

Society may express disapproval, offer advice, or avoid an individual for bad self-regarding choices, but cannot inflict legal penalties or social coercion.

The Social Contract

Driven by fear of violent death, individuals covenant with one another to surrender all their natural rights to an absolute sovereign (Leviathan).

Nature of Sovereignty

The sovereign is absolute, indivisible, and unchallengeable. Subjects have no right of revolution, as rebellion threatens to dissolve government and plunge society back into nature's brutal war.