Hobbes vs. Locke: State of Nature and Social Contract Theory
Thomas Hobbes
According to Thomas Hobbes, in the state of nature, men are completely free in their actions, but this unlimited freedom is not useful to anyone and only leads to anarchy and violence. To escape this chaos, men decide, through a social contract, to constitute civil society. Therefore, the need for order and the desire for peace give rise to the state. With the establishment of the state, man achieves security and property.
For Hobbes, the price men pay for safety is the renunciation of all rights and freedoms in favor of an established sovereign. Through the social contract, men irrevocably transfer sovereignty to the person elected to rule. This sovereignty is exercised by an absolute authority, without limitations or restrictions, not even those mandated by law.
John Locke
Locke, like Hobbes, also discusses the state of nature and the social contract, but holds opposing views.
According to Locke, in the state of nature, man lives in freedom, but without ‘security,’ and their most basic rights (life, liberty, and property) are not properly secured. Consequently, to ensure and provide security for their natural rights, citizens agree through a social contract to establish civil society and the state.
The key point is that man retains, within the society formed by the contract, all the rights and freedoms enjoyed in the natural state, but these are now guaranteed and secured by state power. Thus, Locke concluded that sovereignty is retained by the people, who only transfer certain political functions to the authority. Therefore, if sovereignty resides in the people, they have the right to remove the ruler when they do not fulfill the mandate conferred by the citizenry.
Constitution of Civil Society
Referring to the natural state, Locke states that man possesses reason and a moral sense to restrict his actions and must maintain his natural rights (equality, liberty, property). In the state of nature, all enjoy freedom. Locke believes that civil society and the state do not eliminate the state of nature but rather extend it. Civil society or the state is formed when the community relinquishes its natural executive power and grants it to the state.
Rejection of Absolute Monarchy
Locke was exiled to the Netherlands due to his rejection of absolute monarchy. He argued that absolute monarchy generates arbitrariness and is incompatible with freedom and rationality.
The Origin of the State
The state is born from the pact between individuals. Men are by nature free, equal, and independent. No higher authority can take away a man’s natural liberty against his own consent.
Will of the Majority
Locke argues against innate ideas, stating universal consensus is not possible. No authority has the privilege of establishing order without the consent of the citizens, as rulers cannot place themselves above the will of the individuals composing the group. Therefore, democracy requires the will of the majority.
Original Covenant
The original covenant is the procedure for moving from the state of nature to become a state. By joining, individuals assume the obligation to respect the decisions of the majority.
Legislative and Executive Power
A major principle of liberalism is not to centralize power in the hands of one person or body. The power vested in the state requires a division of powers to prevent laws from being made for personal privilege. Society must ensure legislators make laws that serve the community’s interests, not their own. Furthermore, the assembly responsible for making laws should not always be in session. However, the executive power must always be active to enforce the laws. For Locke, the legislature prevails over the executive; it is the supreme power in the liberal system.