Bilkent University

2003-2004 Summer Semester

HCIV 102: History of Civilization 2

“FIRST ESSAY” on TOPIC ONE: “Leviathan: The Age of Absolutism and Revolution”

An Answer to the SECOND Question:

“In what ways did European thinkers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries explain the origins and nature of political authority? What were the effects (if any) of these explanations?”

Fatih Sinan Esen

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Firstly, we should consider some words and phrases in order to answer this question and put some background. What is politics and authority? By the help of the correct meanings of these words, we can consider “what is political authority?”.

Politics as an area of study is concerned with developing knowledge and understanding of government and society. The interaction of people, ideas and institutions provides the focus for understanding how values are allocated and resources distributed. Thus analyses of who gets what, when, how, why and where are central, as are concepts of power, justice, order, conflict, legitimacy, accountability, obligation, sovereignty and decision-making. (Cardiff University Official Website 27.6.2004)

Thayer defines authority as 1) power of choice, liberty of doing as one pleases, permission; 2) physical and mental power, the ability or strength with which one is endued, which he either possesses or exercises; 3) the power of authority (influence) and of right (privilege); 4) the power of rule or government (the power of him whose will and commands must be submitted to by others and obeyed). (J.H. Thayer, The New Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament)

While considering Political Authority;
Dr. Almon Leroy Way
from Cyberland University of North America, who is the

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University President and Professor of Political Science, explains that, “Political Authority” is governmental power, the formal-legal authority of the public officeholders and institutions comprising the government to make and carry out decisions on public policy - to adopt and implement the authoritative decisions that have the force of law and are binding on all members of the society. Political authority is the legally established power of the government to make rules and issue commands and to compel obedience to them, making use of physical force and coercion when deemed necessary. Political authority, in short, is the legal right - the legally established power - to govern society. (
Dr. Almon Leroy Way
, Cyberland University of North America Unofficial Website)

After imbibing these keywords, we are, now, able to have some information about John Locke. John Locke was born in 1632 at Wrington, Somersetshire, England, in a middle-class Puritan family. His father had fought in the civil war on the side of the parliamentary party. He studied and interested in philosophy and the natural sciences and received his doctorate in medicine in Oxford. Having entered into the graces of Lord Ashley, who later became the Earl of Shaftesbury, Locke held several political offices. As he improved his knowledge in medicine, he met with the political leaders of the time. The most important one of them was Lord

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Ashley, who was the leader of Whig party (afterwards its name will be changed as Liberal Party). By the rise of Lord Ashley, Locke also raised until the disgrace of Lord Ashley. By this disgrace, Locke fled to Holland, where he found freedom and manliness to express his ideas, which were about liberalism, freely. He is a liberalist and the father of the “Political Liberalism”, where, for example, Adam Smith is the father of the “Economic Liberalism”. He constructed the thing, which we called “classic liberalism”, on the base of globalism. There were many thinkers that explain the nature of political power, such as Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. John Locke is one of the most important thinkers that talked about the origins of political authority. He is influenced by some writers and he also influenced many writers and nations. He is a basis for American Declaration of Independence, as we’ll talk later.

According to Locke, people living in a society has three basic rights: 1)rightof living, 2)right of ownership, 3)right of freedom. Locke objects the theological power of kingship and mentions indispensable and natural rights of people. As Locke says, an individual has some rights that come from birth. An individual is rational and intellect. It should be put at the center of all powers. In this way, Locke seems like optimistic.

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Locke is a libertarian and contemporary thinker. In Locke’s government system, there is no absolute authority but freedom. He states that absolute authority restricts the rights of people and makes them unhappy. Leaving people free self-constructs a modern and advanced society. This society will have a brave government which can take this responsibility. A good government is formed by free people with their natural rights. So, governments should leave people free in order to advance. A restrictive management cannot be considered as a deliverer in 17th and 18th centuries. Adam Smith, also, thinks like that. Both writers says “Leissez Faire!(Let it be!)”, which is a common phrase in liberalism and defines it.

Government should have some important missions only. These are judging, interior and exterior safety for the society. Other type of government that interferes individual’s rights, ownerships, relationships cannot be acceptable. Every individual wants to gain the products of his labour and he has this right. For this reason, the government should not interfere the activities, which are legal, of their people and should preserve them against other forces that interfere their legal activities. Lock says that the way to stop the government while interfering the individual’s rights is that legislative power and executive function of governments should be separated.

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On the other hand, since every individual has a right to live, governments should protect poor and weak people against wealthy and powerful people. Because the governments should balance the rights of all people in a society.One cannot say that wealthy people never look down on poor ones. The mission of the government is to protect oppressed people. And this is also the power of a government.

Locke makes the basis of the obligation of political obedience and the aspects of the modern government (before constitutional laws) depend on an assumption called “social contract”. According to Locke’s assumption of “social contract”, before contract, there were a confidence and a safe atmosphere, as natural. People were free and equal. However, some people were in activities of anarchy. They may want to destruct this confident and safe society. For this reason, society wanted to construct a “civil society” in order to live in safe and to protect their freedom. Therefore, they attained a political management (government) with preserving their natural rights with a social contract. The purpose of this political management is to protect the basic rights and freedom of individuals and to provide safety to them. That is the condition for being obeyed.

He is strictly opposes absolutism and royal power. He is a defender of separateness of powers (legislative function, executive function and federative function).

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While talking Locke’s thoughts about political authority, we must add that Locke doesn’t tell us much about human nature, but it is clear that he refuses to equate the state of nature with the state of war in the way that Hobbes does. Locke says at one point: “And here we have the plain difference between the state of nature and the state of war, which however some men have confounded, are as far distant, as a state of peace, good will, mutual assistance and preservation, and a state of enmity, malice, violence and mutual destruction, are one from another.”(Second Treatise of Government, ch.3, p270) Locke believes that humans may each judge and punish each other’s breaches of the law of nature and humans are naturally prone to disagree with each other about the content of the law of nature. In light of this, they may fall into disputes with each other and war is likely (especially as property becomes scarce). So, what is the solution? The solution: People should establish a condition in which no one is “judge in his own case” – that is, in which no person may settle his own disputes with others. “And this puts men out of a state of Nature into that of a common-wealth, by setting up a judge on earth with authority to determine all the controversies and redress the injuries that may happen to any member of the commonwealth. And wherever there are many number of men, however associated, that have no such decisive power to appeal to, there they are still in

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the state of Nature.” (Second Treatise of Government, ch.7, p305)

There was a belief of Locke that is about religion. Locke also defends that the religion is free and it does not depend on the State, means, in a state, many religions can live in peace. That is not depend on which state is it or which religion do the governors believe. If the government is just and makes its jobs properly, society will live in a high prosperity.

The affects of this writings of John Locke spread like a wild fire. He claims that people should have a right to take the power from the government back when the legislators use this power with carelessness. In other words, they should be able to modify their government and form another one. This is one of the basic points of American Declaration of Independence: “…That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness…” (Declaration of Independence-1787)

Moreover, the Liberalism in 17th and 18th centuries took its shape with the help of Locke’s writings. He, also, made a first and strong strike to absolutism. American, British and

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French Revolutions took their basic roots from Locke’s doctrine of natural laws.

As a conclusion, it can be said that, Locke is an important thinker for the age of enlightenment. Many people are influenced from him. He basically talks about the natural rights of people and how these rights form a government. He explains why a government is necessary to live in safe. His definition of political authority is based on humans. He rejects all kinds of repressive management. As a liberalist and libertarian, he trusts individuals and encourages them. Locke also believes that, individuals will form a safe society with a modern government when they set free. Freedom is essential. But governments should have some responsibilities. They should set a safe and secure atmosphere. Because this government is formed by their people and people, always, want to live in security. Naturally, this preservation gives power to the government, because humans have a right to abolish their government and set a new one. If governments are just and preservative, they can be considered as long-life governments. All these thoughts and plans are to form a political authority on the nature of human and his natural rights, as described. Today’s advanced first world countries have this type of authority. Freedom is the basic property and a major power. Moreover, Locke’s ideas and thoughts formed a basis for some very important

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revolutions, such as American, British and French Revolutions, in following centuries. He is influenced from some writers that lived at his time or before him; and he is read by many people including some liberalist successors of him. Thomas Jefferson used his ideas while composing Declaration of Independence. That is why John Locke is considered as a far-sighted and intelligent thinker and formed a very good model for a free society with a just and powerful government which they form. Human rights had a different and strong shape.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Cardiff University Official Website.

Adress: http://www.cf.ac.uk/euros/politics-whatis.html

Cyberland University of North America Unofficial Website.

Adress:http://www.geocities.com/way_leroy/CUNAPolSci201P artOneC.html

J.H. Thayer, The New Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the

New Testament (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers,

1981), p.225.

Jefferson, Thomas. Declaration of Independence – 1787

Wootton, David (ed.), Political Writings of John Locke (1993)

Second Treatise of Government. (pp.261-335)