John Locke's Social Contract: Government by Consent

John Locke’s theory of the social contract, developed in the Second Treatise of Government (1689), is one of the foundational texts of modern liberal political philosophy. Locke’s contractarian theory provides a systematic account of the origin, the foundation, and the limits of legitimate political authority, and it has had a profound influence on the development of modern constitutional government. This article examines the central arguments of Locke’s social contract, including the state of nature, the natural rights, the formation of civil society, the conditions of legitimate government, and the right of revolution.

The State of Nature

Locke begins the Second Treatise with a description of the state of nature, the hypothetical condition of human beings before the establishment of political authority. The state of nature, for Locke, is a condition of equality, in which all human beings are free and equal, and in which no one is subject to the arbitrary power of another.

The state of nature is not, for Locke, a state of war. It is a state in which the natural rights of individuals are protected by the law of nature, even if the protection is not always effective. The law of nature, which is a principle of reason accessible to all human beings, teaches that human beings are equal and independent, and that no one should harm another in his life, liberty, or property.

The state of nature is, however, a state of inconvenience. The natural rights of individuals are not always protected, and the passions of individuals often lead to conflict and injustice. The proper response to the inconveniences of the state of nature is the establishment of political society by means of a social contract.

The Natural Rights

The natural rights, for Locke, are the rights that all human beings possess by virtue of their nature as human beings. The most important are the rights to life, liberty, and property.

The detailed content of the three fundamental natural rights — life, liberty, and property — is examined in Locke’s Natural Rights Theory; this article focuses on the social contract, the structure of civil society, and the right of revolution.

The natural rights are universal, in that they apply to all human beings regardless of their nationality, religion, or social position. They are also inalienable, in that they cannot legitimately be surrendered or transferred to another. Even when an individual enters into political society, he does not give up his natural rights; he continues to possess them, and the government that violates them is acting illegitimately.

The Formation of Civil Society

The transition from the state of nature to civil society, for Locke, takes place by means of a social contract. The individuals come together and agree to establish a political society that will protect their natural rights. They transfer to the political society the right to enforce the natural law, and they subject themselves to the decisions of the majority.

The social contract is not a historical event; it is a philosophical idea that explains the legitimacy of political authority. The proper government is one that has been established by the consent of the governed and that serves the proper end of protecting the natural rights of the citizens.

The consent of the governed is an essential element of the social contract. The government that has not been established by the consent of the governed is, in Locke’s view, an illegitimate government, and the people have the right to resist or to overthrow it.

The Conditions of Legitimate Government

The legitimate government, for Locke, is one that has been established by the consent of the governed and that serves the proper end of protecting the natural rights of the citizens. The government that fails to meet these conditions is, in Locke’s view, an illegitimate government.

The conditions of legitimate government include the following. The government must be established by the consent of the governed. The government must operate by known and standing laws, not by arbitrary decrees. The government must apply the laws impartially, without respect to persons. The government must respect the natural rights of the citizens, including the rights to life, liberty, and property.

The most important condition is that the government must be limited in its powers. The proper function of government is the protection of the natural rights of the citizens, and the government that exceeds this function is acting tyrannically.

The Right of Revolution

The most controversial element of Locke’s theory is the right of revolution. The government, for Locke, is a kind of trust, established by the people for the protection of their natural rights. When the government violates this trust — when it acts in ways that are destructive of the natural rights of the citizens — the people have the right to resist and to overthrow it.

The right of revolution is grounded in the social contract itself. The people have established the government for the protection of their natural rights, and they retain the right to abolish the government when it fails to fulfill this purpose. The right of revolution is, in this sense, a condition of the legitimacy of the original social contract.

The right of revolution was a radical claim, and it was a direct contradiction of the traditional doctrine of the divine right of kings. The claim was justified by the appeal to the natural rights of the individuals, and it was an important foundation of the American and French revolutions.

The Lasting Influence

Locke’s theory of the social contract has had a profound influence on the development of modern political thought. The American Declaration of Independence, with its appeal to the natural rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, is a direct descendant of Locke’s theory. The French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen is another important descendant. The contemporary international human rights regime, as embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the various other international covenants, is also, a descendant of Locke’s pioneering work.