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Influence of John Locke’s Social Contract Theory on America’s political, economic and social structure
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Influence of John Locke’s Social Contract Theory on America’s political, economic and social structure
John Locke’s Social Contract theories influence America’s political, economic, and social foundations. Locke wrote extensively about America’s socio-political and economic, the writings that have continued to influence America’s thoughts and actions. Locke’s social contract arguments about citizen’s rights to revolt against their oppressors were tremendously influential in shaping America’s democratic revolutions that followed the attainment of independence. According to Locke, the state of nature and humankind “is a state of perfect and complete liberty to conduct one’s life as one best sees fit, free from the interference of others” (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2017 p5). This statement shapes America’s political landscape by encouraging them to fight oppressive regimes such as Jim Crow regimes and exercise their freedoms
America’s entrenchment of capitalism and private ownership property stem from Locke’s natural laws, which gives people rights to own property. Locke believed that private property endows economic freedoms and free trade because it enables people to own and control factors of production (Biernat, 2015). Private ownership, as practiced in modern American society, makes people own assets that allow them to generate more wealth. Individual liberty is a strong basis for America’s constitution and natural law. If a person tries to limit or control another person’s liberty to own property, that person is threatening the income stream hence denying and obstructing natural law. Likewise, Locke believed that everyone is created equal with certain unalienable social rights, among them the right to pursue happiness. The America’s social system is guided by strong believe in unalienable social rights, which are entrenched in the constitutions and guarded by America’s justice systems.
References
Biernat, M (2015) John Locke Economic Theory. Retrieved from https://political-economy.com/john-locke/
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2017) Social Contract Theory. Retrieved from https://www.iep.utm.edu/soc-cont/
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