God, The State And Property Rights

Since the time of Grotius, Hobbes and Pufendorf, the question of the modern western politics is the relation of self-preservation and the state of nature, and the state of nature have two meanings, namely, the state of nature among individuals and the state of nature among commonwealths. James Tully and Richard Tuck, who are the important members belonging to Cambridge School of thought, have discussed this subject. In Hobbes'Political project, this subject becomes two poles, namely, the unlimited natural right in the state of nature and the absolute power of the sovereignty of one commonwealth, and the medium position of property is very unstable. Before Locke, several great political philosophers, such as Grotius and Pufendorf, more or less share this defect. Locke responses them, and give out a more satisfied answer, which is the key of the core question in modern time. He resolves the question in two kinds of tension, namely, the one between the traditional natural law and the modern natural right, and the one between the state of nature among individuals and the state of nature among commonwealths. The final answer is that property and commonwealth dependence each other and promote mutually. It foreshows classical political economics, and appears in the structure of Hegel's Philosophy of Right.In chapter?we will study Hobbes'political philosophy, paying attention on his views on God, commonwealth and property. Then, beginning with chapter?, we will introduce Locke's notion of God, namely, the workmanship model, under which Locke makes a through inquiry into the relation of reason and desire. This relation runs through his political philosophy (especially his Two Treatises of Government). In chapter?, we will interpret The First Treatise, absorbing western scholars' achievements in studying the doctrine of the state of nature, besides give out the framework of two meanings of the state of nature in Two Treatises of Government. Under the above horizon, we will interpret The Second Treatise around the theory of property in chapter?. Firstly, we will explain the dialectical unity of natural right and the duty according to natural law, or reason and desire in the theory of property, which founds on the doctrine of labor, affirms men's natural equality and freedom, then we will show the relation of property and commonwealth, which appears in the strategy of colonialism and mercantilism of early modern western states.