Political Science 1020E Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Social Contract, Jeremy Bentham, Diplomatic Law
23 Oct 2014
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Political science lecture #3 - september 24th, 2014. Justifying the state: anarchism, the state and political obligation, the social contract. In locker"s state of nature, the executive power of the law of nature is possessed by each person. Anarchism: an + archoes = without rulers, we would be better off without government. We would cooperate for self-interest and because human beings are good: cooperation is possible without coercion. As children naturally we wanted to communicate and connect with others; playing nicely. Hobbes"s reply to anarchism: fear, suspicion, and competition will overwhelm cooperation. Who is going to enforce the law: a few bad apples can ruin everything. A group of uncooperative or evil people can ruin society itself. Even if anarchy is possible, there will be some bad people and who will check them. Two more anarchist responses: humans are naturally good. How do some people become corrupt: social cooperation without coercion. We can create other forms of social control.
