Locke, liberty, and law: Legalism and extra-legal powers in the Second Treatise

Abstract

The apparent inconsistency between Locke’s commitment to legalism and his explicit endorsement of the extra-legal power of prerogative has confounded many readers. Among those who don’t ignore or dismiss it, the common approach is to qualify the role or scope of prerogative. The article advocates the opposite approach. It argues that Locke’s legalism should be understood within the context of his oft neglected conception of political liberty in terms of self-government. This not only allows for the reconciliation of Locke’s legalism with his endorsement of extra-legal powers, but also provides a fuller, more accurate account of the role of law and of political liberty in Locke’s theory.

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“…Thinkers in this century are Thomas Hobbes and Hugo De Groot. In England, known thinkers from that time included John Locke (Sharon, 2022), Montesquieu, and several thinkers born then. Within the framework of the aims of the Law, during the development of classical natural Law, Thomas Hobbes' opinion could be used as an example to illustrate the aims of the Law.…”

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“…Selain itu, Jadual 1 juga menunjukkan sisi positif teori Lockean, kerana membolehkan penilaian orang ramai (Locke, 1988). Ini memberikan perlindungan politik dan institusi terhadap penyalahgunaan kuasa (Sharon, 2019). Penglibatan masyarakat tempatan memainkan peranan penting dalam "melindungi masyarakat dari bahaya dan meminimumkan kerentanan mereka terhadap risiko bencana" (Zubir & Amirrol, 2011 Satu lagi ciri Lockean yang dinyatakan dalam Jadual 1 ialah penyertaan orang ramai melibatkan keutamaan kuasa darurat digunakan secara ekstra-perlembagaan dan orang ramai memahami tindakan yang luar biasa dan menerima kedudukan dan normalisasi tersebut selaras dengan Perlembagaan (Tushnet, 2005).…”

The Lockean Prerogative, Natural Law, and Political Power

“…He argued that Locke's legalism might be reformulated as "collective self-rule," 68 which means "being governed by one's own will through the collective exercise of political power." 69 This, Sharon thinks, opens up the "room for extra-legal employment of political power," 70 i.e. extra-legal political prerogative.…”