Introduction
John Locke (1632-1704) is one of the most influential classical democratic theorists whose ideas have defined the modern theory of democracy. John Locke is famously known as the father of classical liberalism. His writings on democracy are still influential in modern society, especially in the United States (Forstron, 2010).
The Influence of John Locke on the Modern Democratic Theory
It is no doubt that the ideas of John Locke have greatly influenced the emergence and development of modern democratic theories, which have played a major role in guiding different states on the parameters within which democratic governance can be established. Particularly, his influence is rooted in one of his writings, “The Two Treatise of the Government” (Kelly, 2007).
About governments, Locke’s ideas have been crucial in the development of the theory of the separation of powers (Pikis, 2007; Levy, 2008). The theory divides the government into three distinct arms: the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary. The theory suggests that each of the three arms of the government should have distinct powers (Levy, 2008).
One of the original contributions that Locke made to the political theory relates to the degree of the separation of powers. These contributions have had a great influence on the way the government is structured. For instance, Locke’s ideas on the separation of powers can be seen in the structure of the US Government, in which each branch exercises distinct powers (Barilleaux & Kelley, 2010).
Locke is one of the proponents of the social contract theory, which has defined most of the current theories of democracy (Baumgold, 2010). In this case, Locke argued that every citizen had natural rights that should not be taken away or limited by governments. Locke believed that the government had the obligation to protect those natural rights; these included the rights to property, life, and liberty (Baumgold, 2010). Therefore, Locke’s contributions to the social contract theory have greatly influenced the development of the theories of human rights. The development of human rights theories has led to the recognition of human rights, both at the state and international levels. This is exemplified by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Normand & Zaidi, 2008).
In his contribution to the development of the social contract theory, Locke supported the idea of governance by consent. This implies that the people have to agree to be governed; if the government violated its mandates, the people had the right to replace it with another government (Baumgold, 2010).
The Impact of Democratic Theory on the Contemporary Governance
In my understanding, a democratic theory is a set of specific assumptions, proposals, or accepted facts that try to provide a credible explanation of forms of governments in which the people are vested with the supreme power to govern themselves either directly or through their legitimately elected representatives. Examples of democratic theories include the pluralist theory of democracy (Hallett, 2010), liberal democratic theory (Hancock, 2011), and social contract theory (Baumgold, 2010). All these theories have defined the modern forms of democratic governance.
The issue of inclusion in the democratic theory focused almost entirely upon the link between the government and citizens (Munck, 2007). In this case, various theorists have attempted to provide an account of the political rights of citizens who live under legitimate authorities in democratic states (Murray, 2007). It is important to note that the accounts of political rights have attempted to advance the argument that adults under the rule of legitimate authorities ought to be treated as equal citizens who, apart from other political liberties, have the right to participate in the process of decision making within their states (Murray, 2007). To this end, there are fundamental points to consider. One of the points is about the constitutionality and contractarian; the issue here is the recognition of equal citizenship, which makes it possible to deal with the question of how a group of individuals who anticipate to harmoniously live with one another should order together with their common affairs (Dougherty, 2011).
Besides, it is worth noting that the theories that promote democratic equalities have also promoted the need to consider the rules and procedures of governance that are acceptable to everybody (Dougherty, 2011). The theories provide precise explanations of what legitimate democratic governance should entail (Levy, 2008). Therefore, the democratic theory provides the parameters that can be used to determine whether or not a form of governance is democratic. Thus, the democratic theory is used as a framework within which modern democratic governance is established or framed.
Conclusion
John Locke is one of the prominent classical democratic theorists whose ideas have continued to influence the modern democratic theory (Kelly, 2007). Particularly, Locke’s ideas have influenced the development of the doctrine of the separation of powers, which is used around the world to create a balance of power within governments. He has also contributed to the development of the pluralist democratic theory and the social contract theory (Baumgold, 2010). It can also be noted that the democratic theory has significantly impacted contemporary governance (Hallett, 2010).
References
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