Theory of John Locke

John Locke 's Social Contract Theory and the

American Criminal Justice System (Student 's name (Subject (Professor 's name (Date

John Locke 's Social Contract Theory and the

American Criminal Justice System

The influence of John Locke 's social contract theory on America 's political and governmental system is undeniable . The very presence of his social contract theory in this country 's constitution is a matter of fact that most Americans take for granted . Locke 's influence does not end in the Constitution or rather , because Locke influenced the Constitution , it

is inevitable that he also influences all the other governmental and political systems in the country . In this , the influence of Locke 's theory in America 's criminal justice system shall be established . It is the basic claim of this that Locke 's theory forms as the theoretical basis of the existing criminal justice system To be able to establish this claim , this shall have the following parts : a discussion of Locke 's social contract theory and a discussion of how the criminal justice system reflects Locke 's social contract theory

Locke 's Social Contract Theory

Locke 's social contract theory is all about how present day society is formed with its existing political and governmental system . The basic idea is this : that a legitimate civil government is formed by the explicit consent of those governed (Uzgalis , 2007 . This explicit consent by the governed has been attained because the governed chose to give up some of their rights in the state of nature , specifically the right to autonomously defend their life , health , liberty , and possessions (Locke in Friend , 2006 ) by all means . Why exactly do the governed have to give up this right of defense , and hence give up living in the state of nature , in the first place ? What exactly does this giving up entail

Locke 's theory works on the foundation that human beings have a natural right to life , health , liberty , and possessions . Hence , even in the state of nature , human beings enjoyed these rights in full : they had autonomous power over their lives , they are in control of their bodies and their health , they are free to do as they wish , and they are entitled to own . As such , human beings started establishing property by putting fences ' and combining work with parts of nature that they could use and need . What have been fenced and that part of nature that has been combined with labor becomes a property . This all sounds very good nevertheless it is also this property-making capacity of human beings that necessitate them to give up the state of nature . Property as well as the other basic rights of human beings mentioned above , could eventually create disputes such as property disputes that can ultimately lead to wars (Friend , 2006 . Hence , some system has to be in place to fix the situation . This system is eventually the civil government that was formed by the autonomous coming together of men to...