Justification of state by John Locke, Hobbes and plato

Worldwide, the existence of states depend a number of factors, reasons and elements which may be used in justification of state. Justification of state refers to the source of legitimate authority for the state or government. Typically, such a justification explains why the state should exist, and to some degree scopes the role of government and what a legitimate state should or should not be able to do[1]. Many years ago in feudal Europe, justification of the state emerged from the idea of divine right of kings and the ideology came with guidelines and principles believed by monarchs that, monarchs gain powers from God and it was the will of God to appoint leaders to serve other human beings, then the state should only be an apparatus that puts the monarch's will into practice. In this justification of state method, there was a belief that, a king is a part of God and a person who was given divine power and rights to act as God, likewise a king was considered as a connection between Heaven and Earth. For a long occupancy of power by a king, he was required to work in accordance to the needs of people and it was believed that such powers were only to be rejected by God himself and not human beings.

In the period of the eighteenth century, usually called the Enlightenment, a new justification theory developed and that theory recognized the power of the citizens in formation of state in what was referred as social contract. During this time, democratic powers of citizens were used to elect leaders for a purpose of serving citizens and being their representatives in many issues[2]. It was a contract indeed because the leaders were to work in regarding what the citizens wanted and any failure of a leader to do as required by citizens resulted into losing their position by being withdrawn peaceful or armed from the reign. Social contracts based on a concept that, no person should have absolute power, and that a legitimate state is one which meets the needs and wishes of its citizens. These include security, peace, economic development and the resolution of conflict. Also, the social contract requires that an individual gives up some of his natural rights in order to maintain social order via the rule of law. Eventually, the divine right of kings fell out of favor and this idea ascended; it formed the basis for modern democracy.

Justification of a state may be due to political ideology, in many years ago, some states formed by regarding political ideologies or modes of production. Ideologies like conservatism, socialism, liberalism, libertarianism, fascism and capitalism came with it’s own mode of defining a state connecting it to that mode of production existed in a state. Anarchism explains that, society fighting to create states it is the same as fighting to create other stateless societies, and the communists believe that it is better to have free societies who share each and everything and no barriers in life. During communalism, most of the states adopted this mode of production were religiously named as communal states because they were using that mode of production as the basis of the economy in a state. And due to the existence of too many different modes of productions, there was also a rival in many aspects include political issues, economic and social development[3].

Until today, there is still many discrepancy in modes of production or life across the world and this was a result of the modes of production existed since before the coming of capitalism which is the most spread mode of production used in many countries of the world. In today’s perspective it looks like all other modes of production compacted to form one mode of production with all elements of all other modes include communalism, feudalism and dictatorship.

PHILOSOPHICAL JUSTIFICATION FOR EXISTANCE OF STATES

Thomas Hobbes is a famous English philosopher who lived between 1588 -1679 and he came with a lot of ideas most of it helpful to the society. Hobbes came with various ideas include political ideas, the natural condition of mankind, and the most important ideas which relate to our task the law of nature and social contract. In justification of state according to Hobbes, there is a contract between citizens and leaders, citizens elect leaders to be their servants and the citizen empowers those leaders to act on their behalf. The leaders were to work in regarding the interests of their employees (citizen) and the failure may amount to the termination of a contract (social contract) between them. Hobbes also tried to compare a life during the law of nature as guidance of human life against the period of social contract where the agreement between governed and governors bound. As to his knowledge, a life during law of nature was a free life where people were free to live the way they want and no problem were to arose as living in social contract period, his statement was the same as saying “survivor for the fittest”, everyone was to live according to his knowledge and power and no legal control of positive laws as the control now days[4].

On explaining social contracts against law of nature, Hobbes highlighted that, in social contract period the leaders and citizens were all under the control of law. Both leaders and citizens were to abide the law and no one was allowed to live the life of breaking the law of the state. On cementing his ideas, Hobbes failed to hide his feelings and expressed clearly that to him the social contracts in state was more better than in law of nature. Law of nature always considered as laws from God and no one has rights to deny it but only to follow and protect it. Take an example of a law of gravity which state that, “every object with mass attract each other, hence an object thrown in air fall on earth”, this is pure example of law of nature and no one can change it in any matter, the it is will remain the same ever.

Plato in his philosophical ideas a state is like a man on larger scale, to him the state is the perfect organism and he argued that harmony must reign between individuals and the state. Further that harmony is obtained by virtual (moral goodness), it means for there to be peace and harmony according to plato, individuals forming the state must abide to the existing set of moral goodness. Plato ideas suggest that there was some friction between the governed and the rulers and his philosophical view point was used as an ideological tool.

In his ideas, plato suggested that the philosophers are the proper people to be leaders and he supported classes in society, he clearly showed that, some people must be rulers and other must be ruled but with respect[5]. In Plato’s ideal state there are three major classes, corresponding to the three parts of the soul. The guardians, who are philosophers, govern the city; the auxiliaries are soldiers who defend it; and the lowest class comprises the producers (farmers, artisans, etc). The guardians and auxiliaries have the same education, which begins with music and literature and ends with gymnastics. The arts are censored for educational purposes: for example, any poetic writings which attribute ignoble doings to the gods cannot be taught. Only poetry which nourishes the budding virtues of the pupils can be part of the curriculum. Similarly, musical modes which sound sorrowful, soft, or feminine, are banished from the education of the guardians. This apparently leaves only the Dorian and Phrygian modes, of which Socrates approves because they incite the listener to courage, temperance, and harmonious living. Certain instruments, such as the flute, are also forbidden from the ideal city-state, as are certain poetic meters, since Socrates associates them with vice

John Locke on justification of state, the issue of justifying the State was to show how its authority can be reconciled with the natural autonomy of the individual.  He uses the libertarian notion of the individual as well as the device of the social contract to lay out his arguments. According to locke, state plays big roles in human life and he gave many examples to support his arguments. Locke stated that, the power of the State affects nearly every part of our lives.  It affects the quality of the water we drink (who gives the State the right to put Fluoride in it?), the homes we live in (why can the State determine the minimum height of my doors) and even the air we breathe (what gives the State the power to impose taxes on the most polluting organisations and individuals?).

All examples used by Locke tried to show that we form states so as to be able to grant powers to individuals to work for the sake of the state. Justifying the State is usually thought to mean showing that there are universal obligations to obey the law.  Since the duties of natural law apply only when our preservation is not threatened, then our obligations cease in cases where our preservation is directly threatened. This has important implications if we consider a soldier who is being sent on a mission where death is extremely likely.  Locke believed that a soldier who deserts from such a mission is justly sentenced to death.  Locke is therefore claiming not only that desertion laws are legitimate in the sense that they can be blamelessly enforced but that they also imply a moral obligation on the part of the soldier to give up his life for the common good.

According to locke, the authority given to government must be for the purpose of securing people’s life and their wellbeing, a government on implementing that, cannot justify killing, enslaving, or plundering the citizens. It will be considered by citizens as there is no government if itself a government do things not allowed to do on affecting citizens and citizens may decide to remove such government from the power.

COMPARISONS AND CONTRASTS IN PHILOSOPHICAL JUSTIFICATION FOR EXISTANCE OF THE STATE

COMPARISON

Their minds (Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and plato) based on political ideologies on how governments should be formed, how government should exercise its functions free and fairly and the connection between governments and citizens. Also these philosophers tried to compare a law of nature or state of nature to social contracts between leaders and citizens and its operation. Democracy is a main topic in the minds of these philosophers because they both pointed free minds of people in forming government and the separation of powers in the country or state as plato stated there should be rulers and governed who are producers of the state.

CONTRASTS

Thomas Hobbes believed a contract exists between the king and the people but once the king becomes king, he cannot be overthrown and obtains absolute power. John Locke government conditional and can be overthrown if it does not represent the people. Hobbes maintained that, the people have all democratic powers to elect leaders but their powers are limited especially after a king being selected then there was no any right to overthrow him unlike to John Locke who suggested that, a government should be conditional and legally controlled and a right to overthrow a leader exist any time when clearly proved that a leader do not exercise his duties properly against citizens.

To Thomas Hobbes “a state of nature” was brutal. But John Locke believed that the state of nature was good.  Hence if governments could not do as much for people than they did for themselves in the state of nature, government could be dismantled. John Locke supported that the state of nature where human controlled themselves freely was good and human still have that nature in themselves and the positive government must make people feel more better than their life in the state of nature for the survivor of government.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

Myneni, S.R., (2004),  Jurisprudence (Legal Theory), (2^nd edn), Publisher, S.P. Gogia

Penner et al (2002), Jurisprudence & Legal Theory, Comments & Materials,  Butterworths

Babel’s, (2001),  Law Dectionary of Legal Terms,Indian Press (Pubs) P.Ltd Allahabad

ONLINE

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justification_for_the_state

https://www.iep.utm.edu/hobmoral/

https://philosophynow.org/issues/90/Platos_Just_State

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[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justification_for_the_state

[2] https://www.iep.utm.edu/hobmoral/

[3] Myneni, S.R., (2004),  Jurisprudence (Legal Theory), (2^nd edn), Publisher, S.P. Gogia

[4] ibid

[5] https://philosophynow.org/issues/90/Platos_Just_State