Mutual Benefit, Property, and the Conceptual Foundations of Trust

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrique Carvalho
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
John Locke ◽  
Thomas Hobbes ◽  
The Political ◽  
Mutual Benefit ◽  
Crime And Punishment ◽  
Theoretical Examination ◽  
Conceptual Foundations

This chapter builds on the discussion initiated in the previous chapter, contrasting the political theory of Thomas Hobbes with that of John Locke in order to argue that the same insecurity found in Hobbes’s account of criminal law and punishment is preserved in Locke’s model of society. It provides a rarely seen analysis of Locke’s account of crime and punishment, as well as the role which these concepts play in his broader political theory. This theoretical examination is used as an analogy through which to understand the tensions and contradictions found in the liberal model of criminal law, as well as its vulnerability to conditions of socio-political insecurity.

Calvinists, Arminians, Socinians: Popular Sovereignty and Natural Rights in Early Modern Political Thought

2019 ◽  
pp. 21-35
Author(s):  
James Moore
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Early Modern ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
John Locke ◽  
Natural Rights ◽  
Popular Sovereignty ◽  
The Political ◽  
Reformed Church ◽  
Hugo Grotius

This chapter focuses upon natural rights in the writings of Hugo Grotius, the Levellers and John Locke and the manner in which their understanding of rights was informed by distinctive Protestant theologies: by Arminianism or the theology of the Remonstrant Church and by Socinianism. The chapter argues that their theological principles and the natural rights theories that followed from those principles were in conflict with the theology of Calvin and the theologians of the Reformed church. The political theory that marks the distinctive contribution of Calvin and the Reformed to political theory was the idea of popular sovereignty, an idea revived in the eighteenth century, in the political writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

Do territorial rights include the right to exclude?

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 307-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cara Nine
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
John Locke ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Prima Facie ◽  
Property Right ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Public ◽  
Hard Time ◽  
Territorial Rights ◽  
The Right

Do territorial rights include the right to exclude? This claim is often assumed to be true in territorial rights theory. And if this claim is justified, a state may have a prima facie right to unilaterally exclude aliens from state territory. But is this claim justifiable? I examine the version of territorial rights that has the most compelling story to support the right to exclude: territorial rights as a kind of property right, where ‘territory’ refers to the public and common spaces included in the domain of state jurisdiction. I analyse the work of A. J. Simmons, who develops the political theory of John Locke into one of the most well-articulated and defended theories of territorial rights as a kind of property right. My main argument is that Simmons’ justification for rights of exclusion, which are derived from individual rights of self-government, does not apply to many kinds of public spaces. An upshot of this analysis is that most Lockean-based theories of territorial rights will have a hard time justifying the right to exclude as a prima facie right held by states against aliens.

Thomas Hobbes and the external relations of states

1979 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 196-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Murray Forsyth
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Thomas Hobbes ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Political ◽  
Realist Approach ◽  
State Of Nature ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
External Relations

Hobbes' conception of relations between states has attracted attention from two directions. Students of political theory who have focused on Hobbes have from time to time looked beyond their central preoccupations and noted briefly the relevance of his doctrine for the international arena. The external relations of Leviathan are for them on the fringe of Hobbes' theory. Students of international relations on the other hand invoke Hobbes' name frequently as a kind of shorthand for a particular approach to the international world, one that is also associated with Machiavelli, and usually called the ‘realist’ approach. By contrast with the political theorists, they tend to look from the outside into Hobbes’ theory and to ask whether and how far the ‘domestic’ situation of individuals in a Hobbesian state of nature bears an analogy with the ‘external’ situation of states in relationship to one another.

Crime and Punishment

2019 ◽  
pp. 73-106
Author(s):  
Anna Ross
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
State Building ◽  
The Political ◽  
Easy Task ◽  
Reform Agenda ◽  
Crime And Punishment ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Procedural Reform

This chapter sets out to chart the reforms to criminal and penal affairs undertaken in Prussia in the 1850s. Both Manteuffel and the Justice Minister Ludwig Simons believed that revolutionary unrest could be countered by completing unattended work from the Vormärz era pertaining to criminal justice. But realizing a reform agenda was no easy task. On the political extremes it elicited opposition, especially in the symbolically charged terrain of substantive criminal law. To avoid such complications, both ministers worked hard to shift debate to the realm of procedural reform in the 1850s, creating a surprising and largely integrating space for state-building. In doing so, the post-revolutionary ministries pursued reform without slipping into parochialism. That is, they did not permanently close avenues for the creation of a set of unified national codes to regulate criminal and penal affairs.

Rethinking the sexual contract: The case of Thomas Hobbes

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 274-301
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Rustighi
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Thomas Hobbes ◽  
Political Authority ◽  
The Political ◽  
Civil State ◽  
Sexual Contract ◽  
Child Relationship ◽  
Novel Concept ◽  
Mother Child Relationship

Feminist scholars have long debated on a key contradiction in the political theory of Thomas Hobbes: While he sees women as free and equal to men in the state of nature, he postulates their subjection to male rule in the civil state without any apparent explanation. Focusing on Hobbes’s construction of the mother–child relationship, this article suggests that the subjugation of the mother to the father epitomizes the neutralization of the ancient principle of ‘governance’, which he replaces with a novel concept of ‘power’ as formally authorized command. This scrutiny leads to three main conclusions: (1) a radicalization of Pateman’s concept of ‘sexual contract'; (2) the acknowledgement that patriarchy is inseparable from the logic of political authority constructed by Hobbes; and (3) the claim that criticism of patriarchal rule requires an overall problematization of the mainstream conception of political participation we have inherited from modern political science.

Vainglory, Modesty, and Political Agency in the Political Theory of Thomas Hobbes

2010 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 241-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie E. Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Thomas Hobbes ◽  
Political Agency ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Right

AbstractHistories of political theory have framed the story of the emergence of sovereign states and sovereign selves as a story about secularization—specifically, a story that equates secularization with self-deification. Thomas Hobbes's investment in modesty and humility demonstrates the need for, and the possibility of, an alternative secularization narrative. Scholars have long insisted that “vainglory” is a key term for the interpretation of Leviathan. But Hobbes's task is not complete once he has discredited vainglory. Hobbes must also envision, and cultivate, contrary virtues—and modesty is one virtue that Hobbes would cultivate. An analysis of Hobbes's attempt to redefine and rehabilitate the virtues of modesty shows that Hobbes warns against the temptation to self-deification. In Leviathan, the political task is not to enthrone humans in sovereign invulnerability, but rather to achieve the right balance between bodily security and consciousness of finitude.

Toward a Political Theory of Criminal Law

2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 122-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Melissaris
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Social Cooperation ◽  
Moral View ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Crime And Punishment ◽  
Long Term Stability ◽  
Liberty Principle

The aim of this paper is to outline a political theory of criminal law, that is, a theory that does not rely on any controversial moral view on fault and punishment. The argument is based largely on John Rawls's work but also addresses some inconsistencies regarding crime and punishment therein. The paper will make a case for a mixed theory of criminal law and punishment along the following lines: The fair terms of social cooperation generate duties for the violation of which one can be held properly responsible. However, nothing in this determines what the accountability-seeking measure may be or its intensity. These are matters of appropriateness to be determined in terms of the assurance of the participants in a well-ordered society and the long-term stability of social cooperation. Criminalization and punishment are contingent, historically qualified means of achieving stability and assurance, serving only as last resort. Although the institution of punishment is subject to the constraints of the rule of law, which stem directly from the liberty principle, questions such as the intensity of punishment or the proportionality between offenses and penalties depend on the proper workings of the utilitarian calculus in combination with the requirements of democratic decision-making.

scholarly journals Feeding Truffles to Porcupines

2013 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 10-13
Author(s):  
Jakub Tlolka
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
John Locke ◽  
Thomas Hobbes ◽  
Evolutionary Process ◽  
Present Form ◽  
The Political ◽  
The West ◽  
Thomas Paine ◽  
Theoretical Concepts ◽  
Western Values

Traditionally, the West has promoted the commendable cause of human rights because it was here that its contours were eloquently outlined by the champions of early liberalism. We uphold the western societal model because it results from our cumulative efforts to introduce into practice the noble standards conceptualised by John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Thomas Paine, and other influential contractualists. Naturally, we are eager to share its fruits with the world. However, in the process of attempting to export western values we tend to disregard completely the fact that they took centuries to solidify into their present form. Furthermore, we fail to take into account the political and cultural climates which facilitated the advent of democracy and human rights. Further still, although our eagerness to market the products of our civilisation borders on intrusive advertising, we are yet to appreciate completely the qualities they entail. In this paper I shall argue that, in spite of being established theoretical concepts, from a practical perspective, democracy and human rights are novelties. I shall argue that the sociocultural evolutionary process cannot be expedited; that historically, piecemeal reform has taken pragmatic precedence over political adventurism. I shall argue that insofar as the West continues to recklessly impose its cultural ethos upon exotic civilisations, the ideals it espouses will become utterly devoid of authenticity.

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