ʻWhen data are given you, why do you seek for fictaʼ: Filmerʼs deconstruction and Lockeʼs reconstruction of contract theory

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present John Lockeʼs arguments in the Two Treatises of Government as a comprehensive response to Robert Filmerʼs vehement criticism of the contract theory. Filmer argues that contract theory neither works in theory nor in practice, and so is, as such, a theory of anarchy. Partly accepting these criticisms, Locke constructs a contract theory such that Filmerʼs attacks lose their theoretical sting, that is, an individualistic contract theory which rejects the stigmatization of anarchy. However, Lockeʼs reconstruction is based on the theological foundations which we cannot reasonably share today. Acknowledgement of this fact, in turn, enables us to appreciate the contemporary significance of both Locke and Filmer.