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John Locke’s Political Power Vis-À-vis Abuse Of Power In Nigeria
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John
Locke was also of the view that social contract should remain the best
option for the civil society. In fact he was one of the flag-bearers of
social contract, just as Hobbes. He did not see it as a situation of
servitude on the part of the citizens to their rulers. Rather the
citizens submitted their legislative and executive powers in order to be
governed. Hence the pact makes them a “single body politicâ€[8], making
them equal and free men, both the rulers and the ruled. It is important
to note that this power is a fiduciary power, which means that it is
given on trust. Therefore, the legislature must ensure good, justified
governance, otherwise dissolved. Consequently, “there remains in the
people a supreme power to remove or alter the legislative when they find
the legislative act contrary to the trust reposed in them.â€[9] Since it
is only a power on trust, it means that the people are still in charge,
unlike the absolute monarchy of Hobbes. Rousseau was also in this line
of thought when he was talking about the ‘General Will’, which he said,
belongs to the people. And so the people’s sovereignty cannot be
alienated from them for it belongs to them. Having seen this, let’s see
the situation of politics as it pertains to contemporary period.
1.4 Contemporary Period
Political
thought and theories continued up till the contemporary period.
However, the period witnessed a serious political crisis. There is less
interest in politics as long as this period is concerned; and Alfred
Cobban viewed political philosophy of this period as a discipline that
has less attention. This view does not mean that the philosophers of
this period were not concerned with political society and the system of
governance during their time, but they lacked the interest and the zeal
in redirecting their thought towards political situation of the society.
In fact, there is a kind of decline as it pertains to political
philosophy. The philosophers rather, paid much of their attention to the
reality of the universe and the place of man’s existence in the world.
They questioned how best one can live an authentic life in the world,
not excluding the society, in which one lives. However these not
withstanding, we shall see how they directed their thought towards the
shaping of the individual’s reason in the society. Here we see John
Stuart mill who began his essay “On Liberty†by writing: “The subject of
this essay is not the so-called Liberty of the Will… but civil or
social liberty: the nature and the limits of the power which can be
legitimately exercised by the society over the individual.â€[10] This
civil liberty offers every citizen an opportunity of participation in
the government. A liberty that involves: liberty of conscience, which
is, of expressing and publishing of opinions, liberty of association,
and so on. As regards democracy, he voted Representative Democracy as
the best form of government. The reason for this option is that it makes
people more active and gives the individual better opportunity for
intellectual growth, virtue and socially responsible life. Also the
community, according to him, possesses the power of governance.
Therefore, everybody has legitimate freedom to take active part in the
government. Thus he says,
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