Week of March 3

I think that all you bright people probably are beginning to recognize that several themes have been emerging in the discussions of this course:

We began by seeing that "democracy" is a more complicated idea than we perhaps have thought. That it takes different forms in different places, and has had a series of successes (and failures) since the days of Athens way back when.

Second, we've seen arguments develop over who has a right to participate and why.

Third, we've seen, two men, Aristotle and Cicero, argue that all humans have the capability of participating in one way or other, though perhaps through different offices as Aristotle put it. Cicero puts forth the idea that our universal ability to apply reason (rigorous, systematic thought) allows us to discover (not invent) the universal moral and ethical principles upon which a good society is built.

Now we're going to move up again closer to our own time, to what is sometimes called the Age of Reason to see those principles applied. In the selection we're reading for today, we'll look at how these ideas influence the idea of government. Locke, like a few philosophers before him, understands that humans are "equal". But there are limits on what equality means, and we'll spend some of the period exploring what those limits are.

Then we have our first "right" to explore, and that's the right to own property.

Next, we'll head back across the Atlantic to explore what happens here.

One new idea you'll encounter in this essay is the commons. You may be somewhat familiar with the term. Bristol has a commons. That's a view of it from a satellite in the image above. It was larger in the early days. The open area on the right is the old town cemetery. Boston has a commons. Roger Williams has several: most of you encounter the Upper Commons and the Lower Commons several times a day. For that matter, Massachusetts is a Commonwealth and so is Pennsylvania.

After exploring what government means in a state of equality, Locke goes on to explore the idea of Property. Locke asks what gives a person the right to claim to own something. The discussion which follows from this question is at the core of liberal capitalism and the democratic institutions which are related to it.

Note:

Locke comes from a world where farming is known and understood by most everyone. The great landed estates of the lords and ladies of the nobility drew their profits and income largely from the work of tenant farmers who paid rents on the lands they farmed. Even many city folk kept a kitchen garden. Thus it is understandable that Locke would draw his example from the world of nature. Most of us don’t live that way now, and for us other examples to explain how “property” is formed might be easier to understand.

Come prepared to give ONE example of a way “property” is created which doesn’t involve acorns or apples or other agricultural products.

Learn a Little More . . .

John Locke, like all good enlightenment figures, believed that things humans made were superior to things as found in the world of nature. This includes hair,.which explains the dress wig you see in his portrait to the right. Click on his portrait for biographical information. You'll also see another image of him, this time in his natural hair.

Boston Common (above) looks pretty park-like now. 150 years ago families living nearby would graze cattle, goats, and sheep on it. The children would take them down to the Common on the way to school, and pick them back up on the way back home. Charles Street divides the Boston Common from the Boston Public Gardens. The land on which the Public Gardens sits was "made land". The hill was lowered by about one/third, and the dirt dumped into the swamps along the River to create the area now known as "The Back Bay".

A couple of weeks back, we took note of the way that there were similarities between the metaphors used by Aristotle and Roger Williams. Here, you're going to look for even greater evidence that our Declaration of Independence owes a lot to John Locke. Here's what I want you to look for and take notes upon:

Why is Locke so careful to make a distinction between dissolution of Government and dissolution of Society. What is the distinction, and is he distancing himself a little from the philosophy of Thomas Hobbes?

Considering Locke, what is the purpose of government? You'll see some similarities between his ideas and those of Thomas Hobbes. You will also see some differences.

What should the people do if a government doesn't live up to its obligations and purposes?

Why can people rest easy, knowing there won't be a new revolution every 24 hours? Why would Locke want to make this clear?

Turning to the Declaration of Independence First I'd like to have you pay some attention to its form. There are three distinct parts to the Declaration. How can you tell?

Look for relationships between Locke and Jefferson, especially considering parts 1 and 3 of the Declaration. Note these with sticky notes.

If you were able to put a title on Section 2, what might it be?

You will note that while Locke declares that the purpose of government is to protect property, Jefferson doesn't use that word, but uses another phrase instead. Can you figure out why the change. Look to his assertion about what humans have been "endowed" with. For that matter, why does he used the word, endowed?

Sometimes words are chosen very precisely. Endowed is one of those words, others would include unalienable self-evident, and even the simple word, among. Can you create theories which explain why Jefferson chose these words.