PSCI 314 Midterm Study Guide.docx - 1. According to John...

1. According to John Locke, what is political power and where does it come from?
Does political power exist by nature? Are there types of power/rule which exist by nature?

Two fundamental qualities of man in his natural state – Equality & Freedom
Natural human equality and freedom > which leads to certain rights
 Freedom : A state of perfect freedom is when men are by
nature free because they are equal. There is NO natural
ruler.
To understand political power aright, and derive it from its original, we must consider
what estate all men are naturally in, and that is, a state of perfect freedom to order their
actions, and dispose of their possessions and persons as they think fit, within the
bounds of the law of Nature, without asking leave or depending upon the will of any
other man.
 Equality : Each human being share the same
characteristics with every other human (they share the
same status by nature). They share the same status in
Nature. Humans are the in between beings:
o God = Perfect Reason
o Man = Imperfect Reason
o Beast = No Reason
o NO distinet difference between them (No Marks)
A state also of equality, wherein all the power and jurisdiction is reciprocal, no one
having more than another, there being nothing more evident than that creatures of the
same species and rank, promiscuously born to all the same advantages of Nature, and