On the edge of anarchy: Locke, consent, and the limits of society

303 Pages·2014·18.07 MB·English

by  A. John Simmons

ON THE EDGE OF ANARCHY
STUDIES IN MORAL, POLITICAL,
AND LEGAL PHILOSOPHY
General Editor: Marshall Cohen
A list of titles in the series
appears at the back of the book
ON THE EDGE
OF ANARCHY
Locke, Consent, and the Limits of Society
A. John Simmons
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY
Copyright © 1993 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street,
Princeton, New Jersey 08540
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press,
Chichester, West Sussex
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Simmons, A. John (Alan John), 1950-
On the edge of anarchy: Locke, consent, and the limits of society
/ A. John Simmons
p. cm. — (Studies in moral, political, and legal philosophy)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-691-03303-X
ISBN 04483-X (pbk.)
1. Locke, John, 1632-1704—Contributions in political science.
2. Anarchism. I. Title. II. Series.
JC153.L87S57 1993
320.1'l—dc20 92-44658
This book has been composed in Linotron Palatino
Princeton University Press books are printed on acid-free paper and
meet the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee
on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the
Council on Library Resources
Third printing, and first paperback printing, 1995
Printed in the United States of America
by Princeton Academic Press
3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4
CONTENTS
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix
INTRODUCTION 3
Part 1: Nonconsensual Relations 11
ONE. THE LOCKEAN STATE OF NATURE 13
1.1. Locke's State of Nature 13
1.2. The Moral, Social, and Historical Dimensions 23
1.3. The Point of State-of-Nature Stories 33
Two. FORCE AND RIGHT 40
2.1. The State of War 40
2.2. How Rights Are Lost 46
2.3. Despotism: Slavery and Absolute Government 48
Part 2: Consent and Government 57
THREE. POLITICAL CONSENT 59
3.1. The Content of Lockean Consent 59
3.2. Consent, Contract, and Trust 68
3.3. The Appeal of Consent Theory 72
FOUR. THE VARIETIES OF CONSENT 80
4.1. Express and Tacit Consent 80
4.2. Majority Consent 90
CONTENTS
Part 3: The Limits of Society 99
FIVE. INALIENABLE RIGHTS 101
5.1. The Property of Inalienability 101
5.2. Locke on Inalienability 108
5.3. Locke's Commitments 119
5.4. Toleration 123
5.5. Inalienability and Absolutism 137
Six. DISSOLUTION AND RESISTANCE 147
6.1. The Revolutionary Stance 147
6.2. The Right of Resistance 155
6.3. The Consequences of Dissolution 167
6.4. The Duty to Resist 178
Part 4: Consent and the Edge of Anarchy 193
SEVEN. THE CRITIQUE OF LOCKEAN CONSENT THEORY 197
7.1. Hume's Attack 197
7.2. The Meaning of Consent in Locke 202
EIGHT. CONSENT, OBLIGATION, AND ANARCHY 218
8.1. Consent and Voting 218
8.2. Consent and Residence 225
8.3. Duress, Hard Choices, and Free Choice 232
8.4. Lockean Anarchism 248
WORKS CITED 271
INDEX 285
ABBREVIATIONS
Two Treatises of Government—I or II, followed by paragraph number
An Essay Concerning Human Understanding—E, followed by book,
chapter, and section number
Essays on the Law of Nature—ELN, followed by page number
A Letter Concerning Toleration—L, followed by page number
Two Tracts on Government—First Tract or Second Tract, followed by
page number
An Essay Concerning Toleration—ECT, followed by page number

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Having come together from nearly ten years of work on problems
in Lockean political philosophy, this book has benefited in a wide
variety of ways from the assistance of others. The oldest parts of the
book (in chapters 5 and 8) were read in paper form at many colleges
and universities, and I must thank the audiences there for their help
(despite my inability to remember their individual contributions).
This older work was also supported by grants and fellowships from
the University of Virginia, the University's Center for Advanced
Studies, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. More re­
cently, Julian Franklin and George Klosko generously made many
helpful comments on the material in chapters 1 and 2. But a large
part of this book (most of chapters 3, 4, 6, and 7) has not until now
made it very far out into the world, having been read (and much
improved) only by my friend and wife, Nancy Schauber (who also
deserves credit for having convinced me to assemble the book in its
current form), and by Jeremy Waldron, whose comments were es­
sential in helping me present my ideas more clearly in a variety of
places in the book. So however much I might be willing to try to get
away with blaming the errors of my older work on the inattention
of friends and colleagues, even I must acknowledge my sole re­
sponsibility for the vast majority of the mistakes that readers will
encounter in this book.
Parts of this book contain material that has been previously pub­
lished. Most of chapter 1 was published as "Locke's State of Na­
ture," Political Theory (August 1989). Section 2.2 and most of the first
three sections of chapter 5 appeared in "Inalienable Rights and
Locke's Treatises," Philosophy & Public Affairs (Summer 1983). Parts
of sections 3.3 and 7.1, and most of sections 8.1, 8.2, and 8.3 were
contained in "Consent Free Choice, and Democratic Government,"
7
Georgia Law Review 18/4 (Summer 1984). I thank the publishers for
their permission to reuse this material here. Finally, Iwish to thank
our friends and neighbors in St. Roman de Malegarde and Tulette
(in the northern Vaucluse), and especially Peta and Yves, for the
warmth and hospitality that made my writing so much easier.