>>>>The political thought of Thomas Hobbes represented a turning point in the history
of ideas. His concept of the state of nature, of a contractual state that is created as
a human convention would mark a turning point in political philosophy. Hobbes though, used
his political thought and his view of human nature in support of a medieval vision of
kingship, in support of a strong view of royal power. It was not a progressive political
philosophy. Hobbes' ideas would be used in defense of royal power, but they would have
a tremendous influence even on those who would have different political outlooks in the English
world. And in fact Hobbes thought would influence a political thinker of even greater stature,
John Locke, who would develop, advance, many of the same ideas as Hobbes but in defense
of a vision of constitutional governance and of individual freedom that was grounded in
the idea of consent. John Locke would develop the ideas of Hobbes, but would do so in a
way that makes him the founding figure of modern liberalism. And when we say classic
liberalism, we mean the philosophical tradition of which Locke is the great exemplar: a view
that places utmost importance on individual rights on individual liberty, liberalism that
places enormous significance on the individual's liberty. Locke lives from 1632 to 1704, and
he's important above all for two different works: "an Essay Concerning Human Understanding"
and "Two Treatises on Government", and these in combination would make him the most important
political thinker of the late 17th century and would make him the most influential political
thinker in colonial America. And in fact, Locke's writings, especially the second treatise
on civil government would deeply influence the American revolutionaries. Locke begins
by arguing like Hobbes that humans exist in a state of nature, that they exist in a condition
prior to the existence of the state. Now Locke has some differences in his vision of the
state of nature. One, he emphasizes that people in this condition are free and equal, and
he believes that this is the natural state of mankind that people are free, that they
have a natural liberty and that in this condition they have rights to life, liberty, and property.
And so, Locke thinks that people are by nature free and equal, and although Hobbes too, emphasizes
to a certain extent natural equality, for Locke the emphasis on natural equality is
extraordinary. And it would have been fundamentally different from an Aristotle, or a Cicero.
Locke believes that people are naturally free and equal, and in Locke's state of nature
they have rights to life, liberty, and property. And so whereas Hobbes places emphasis above
all on the right of self-preservation as the single great natural right, Locke places much
greater emphasis on property. And we'll explore in greater detail Locke's theory of property
because it's a fundamentally significant view of what property is, but what's significant
about Locke's view of property in this respect, is that for Locke property precedes the state.
The state is created in order to secure these rights, and so for Locke the state exists
not just to pull humans out of this condition of misery and fear and war of all against
all, but more specifically, to secure individuals in their rights: such as the right to life,
liberty, and their property. And so for Locke in the state of nature there is a kind of
natural property that people have that doesn't have its roots in the convention, in the creation
of a sovereign authority. Like Hobbes, Locke sees the origins of the state in an act of
agreement, in a compact, in what we would call a contract that is created among the
individuals in this society. And unlike Hobbes, Locke places enormous significance in that
act itself. In the will, the free contractual agreement that people make, what we could
call consent. And this too, is a departure from an ancient tradition that places relatively
little emphasis on consent as such. For Locke, the fundamental act of creating a civil government
is an act of individual consent, and it's in that act of consent that people cede some
of their rights and their powers, but only insofar as the government is meant to protect
those rights of life, liberty, and property. And so these ideas appear above all in Locke's
"Two Treatises on Government" which appear in 1689, a crucial moment in English political
history. Just one year after the Glorious Revolution that established a lawful constitutional
limited kingship and the year of the Bill of Rights, a great charter of liberties, enacted
in 1689. So Locke's vision of a contractual agreement between individuals to create a
state is the beginnings of the modern tradition of liberalism.