The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

REISSUE-PEL Ep 37: Locke on Political Power (w/ New Intro)

12.21.2020 - By Mark Linsenmayer, Wes Alwan, Seth Paskin, Dylan CaseyPlay

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A 2011 episode on John Locke's Second Treatise on Government (1690), with a fresh introduction connecting it to the present. What makes political power legitimate? Like Hobbes, Locke thought that things are less than ideal without a society to keep people from killing us, so we implicitly sign a social contract giving power to the state. But on Locke's view, nature’s not as bad, so the state is given less power. But how much less? And what does Locke think about tea partying, kids, women, acorns, foreign travelers, and calling dibs? Featuring guest Sabrina Weiss. Hear the full, new reconsideration of this episode by Mark, Wes, and Dylan on the latest Nightcap available via partiallyexaminedlife.com/support. End song: "Lock Them Away," by Mark Lint (2003). Sponsors: Save $35 off meal delivery at SunBasket.com/PEL, code PEL. Have your donations matched up to $250 at givewell.org/PEL (select podcast and Partially Examined Life). Learn about St. John’s college at sjc.edu/PEL.  

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