Locke's state of nature

Scholarly discussion has treated the account of the state of nature which Locke presents in his Second Treatise as neither an hypothesis nor a description but rather as a fiction. John Dunn, for example, claims that it is a 'theoretical analysis of the fundamental relations of right and duty which obtain between human beings, relations which are logically prior to the particular historical situations in which all actual human beings always in fact find themselves'. Here Dunn presents a misleading account of Locke's argument, presumably, as the title of his paper suggests, in order to mount an argument of his own about the 'political relevance' of Locke's work to a time when no one takes seriously the early modern idea of the state of nature. However, this article also has a more serious concern. I argue that the representation of the state of nature as a merely imaginary, 'theoretical analysis' of social relations obscures the significance of the early modern idea of a state of nature, not only for the work of Locke and his near contemporaries, but also, more importantly, for the broader development of western social and political thought. The idea of an original condition of freedom and equality played a central role in Locke's argument, serving as a means both to undermine the view that humans were born into a natural condition of subjection to the rule of others and to justify European expropriation of land in the Americas. It also represented one end of a developmental continuum, running from the original, most primitive, condition of humanity through to the societies of contemporary western Europe, which was thought to encompass all sections of humanity. While the idea of an original asocial condition on which this continuum was based was later brought into question, a closely related developmental framework nevertheless informed later movements in history and the social sciences. After being abandoned in its original form, this category was finally revived in 20th-century political theory, this time precisely in the form that Dunn mistakenly ascribes to Locke. The article concludes by speculating on the relationship between these normative and empirical perspectives on the state of nature

Cosmopolitanism

This paper was presented as part of Rethinking the Postcolonial in the Age of the War on Terror joint symposium, by the MnM Centre in conjunction with the UNESCO Chair in Transnational Diasporas and Reconciliation Studies, at the University of South Australia, on 16 and 17 September 2010. The aim of the symposium was to explore the postcolonial condition in the era of the \u27war on terror\u27 and to rethink postcolonialism in order to reformulate or reinforce its critical insights. While doubtful of the premise underlying the symposium title, this paper makes a case for intellectual history and describes the recent resurgence of philosopical cosmopolitanism within post-colonial discourse

Los Fines de la Ciudadanía

Existen dos concepciones de ciudadanía funcionando en el mundo moderno. Una que la visualiza como un paquete complejo de derechos y responsabilidades inherentes a los individuos en virtud de su membrecía a una comunidad política apropiada. La otra la considera como una marca de identificación, sugiriendo a las agencias estatales y no estatales el estado particular al cual pertenece el individuo. Estas dos concepciones de ciudadanía no son necesariamente incompatibles, pero son ciertamente distintas. No obstante, el objetivo de este trabajo es tratar de unir estas concepciones

Liberalism - what’s in a name?

[Introduction]: Like the play, this paper disputes the answer given by Juliet’s fantasy. It does so in the context of academic debate by showing that the use of a name, ‘liberalism’ in this case, can have significant implications for political and historical analysis. My aim, in fact, is to question conventional academic characterisations of liberalism and to suggest that the adoption of a different usage not only serves to clarify liberal governmental practice – including many of the recent developments which, for want of a better name, tend to be grouped together under the label of neo-liberalism – but also to provide a fuller and more powerful account of the work of central figures in the liberal tradition. Specifically, the characterisations I wish to dispute present liberalism as focused essentially on one or more of the following concerns: - relations between the state and its subjects; - the promotion and defense of individual liberty; - and, as a special case of the second, the promotion and defense of private property

Venue Shift Following Devolution: When Reserved Meets Devolved in Scotland

This article examines the means used to address blurred or shifting boundaries between reserved UK and devolved Scottish policy. It outlines the main issues of multi-level governance and intergovernmental relations in Scotland and the initial problems faced in identifying responsibility for policy action. While it suggests that legislative ambiguities are now mainly resolved with the use of ‘Sewel motions', it highlights cases of Scottish action in reserved areas, including the example of smoking policy in which the Scottish Executive appears to ‘commandeer' a previously reserved issue. However, most examples of new Scottish influence suggest the need for UK support or minimal UK interest