JOHN LOCKE AND THE SOCIAL CONTRACT
CONSENT, PROPERTY, AND LIMITED POWER
13 January 2026
1. The Problem Locke Was Trying To Solve
John Locke was not reacting to chaos in the way Hobbes was.
He was reacting to the abuse of power.
Writing after civil war but before democratic modernity, Locke asked a different question: not how to prevent society collapsing into violence, but how to prevent governments from becoming predators themselves.
Locke’s social contract is therefore not about survival.
It is about legitimacy.
2. Human Nature According To Locke
Locke’s view of human nature is more optimistic than Hobbes’, but still restrained.
In the state of nature, humans are:
• Rational
• Moral
• Capable of cooperation
• Possessors of natural rights
People are governed by natural law, discoverable by reason.
Conflict arises not because humans are violent by nature, but because enforcement is weak and partial. Individuals are judges in their own cases, and that creates instability.
The problem is not human evil.
It is insecure justice.
3. Natural Rights: Life, Liberty, Property
At the centre of Locke’s philosophy are natural rights that exist prior to government.
These include:
• Life
• Liberty
• Property
Government does not grant these rights.
It exists to protect them.
Property plays a decisive role. By mixing one’s labour with nature, an individual creates ownership. Protecting property becomes the primary reason people leave the state of nature and form governments.
4. The Social Contract: Government By Consent
Unlike Hobbes, Locke’s social contract is conditional.
People agree to:
• Form a political community
• Establish a government
• Obey laws made for the common good
This agreement is based on consent, not fear.
Authority is delegated, not surrendered.
Power flows upward from the people, not downward from the ruler.
The contract is revocable.
5. Limited Government And The Rule Of Law
For Locke, legitimate government must be:
• Limited in scope
• Bound by law
• Accountable to the people
The purpose of law is not control, but protection, especially protection against arbitrary power.
No ruler is above the law.
No law is legitimate if it violates natural rights.
This is the philosophical foundation of constitutional government.
6. The Right Of Resistance
Here Locke breaks decisively with Hobbes.
If a government:
• Violates natural rights
• Governs without consent
• Becomes arbitrary or tyrannical
Then the people have not only the right, but the duty, to resist.
Rebellion is not disorder.
It is a corrective mechanism.
The social contract dissolves when government ceases to serve its purpose.
7. Property And Power
Locke’s emphasis on property has far-reaching consequences.
Property is not merely economic.
It is political.
Those who control property have leverage over power.
Those without it are vulnerable.
This linkage between ownership, rights, and citizenship shapes liberal capitalism, for better and for worse.
8. Locke In The Modern World
Locke’s influence is everywhere:
• Constitutional limits on power
• Representative government
• Judicial review
• The language of rights and consent
But his ideas are often selectively invoked.
Governments cite Locke to justify authority while ignoring his insistence on accountability and resistance.
9. Locke Compared To Hobbes
Where Hobbes sees fear, Locke sees reason.
Where Hobbes demands submission, Locke demands consent.
Where Hobbes prioritises order, Locke prioritises rights.
Hobbes asks how we survive together.
Locke asks how we remain free together.
10. The Question Locke Leaves Us With
Locke leaves an unresolved dilemma:
How do you limit power without weakening the authority needed to govern?
Too much power leads to tyranny.
Too little leads to disorder.
Modern liberal democracies still struggle to hold this balance, often invoking Locke while drifting closer to Hobbes.
The social contract, in Locke’s hands, is not a finished solution.
It is a permanent negotiation.
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