2012-03-10

Capitalism And Morals With Hobbes And Locke

"For Locke, the State’s primary purpose is to protect the citizen’s rights to life, liberty, and property of all those that agreed to the social contract."

Here's the thing.  Who are " all those that agreed?" We talk about this "social contract" but I've seen one. It's basically a an imaginary contract signed by some other dude on my behalf. If there was a social contract, one should be presented to every individual at the end of a specified term; like a lease. For example, if a political part or individual have ideas, they must directly sign a contract with its constituents. That's a contract enforceable by law.

 Of course, just/injustice laws are neutral in The Republic to the extent that man doesn't want to face the latter and too little of the former so it writes laws. Laws in themselves aren't philosophical or meant to be moral, they're just laws. But that's for another time.

The thing about Hobbes, and I suppose for any ideology or political system that relies on coerced action, (for man's good), then how can we let others direct us if we're all inherently and completely bad? Passing "the buck" over to incompetent people is no answer.

It follows, to be fair, that we're not completely good either so a system free of some type of governance.

1 comment:

  1. "[T]hen how can we let others direct us if we're all inherently and completely bad?"

    Out of fear. And knowledge that we are all "inherently and completely bad."

    ReplyDelete

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