Schmitt, Locke, and the Limits of Liberalism
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Date
2008
Authors
Feldman, Leonard C.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
This article brings Carl Schmitt's Political Theology into conversation with John Locke's Second
Treatise of Government. Two fundamental issues are considered: the relationship between Locke's
theory of prerogative power and Schmitt's sovereign/commissarial distinction, and the place of the
theological—in particular the “miraculous” nature of the exception. While some have claimed that
Locke's theory of prerogative fits the model of “commissarial dictatorship” I argue that Locke actually
complicates the sovereign/commissarial distinction by maintaining the tensions between prerogative, law
and popular judgment. Schmitt, on the other hand, dissolves the tension by absorbing popular
sovereignty into sovereign exceptionalism. Concerning the miraculous nature of the exception, I argue
that Schmitt's claim should be understood as part of a broader effort to render politics serious and so I
situate his remarks in light of the complex relationship between the political and the moral in
his Concept of the Political. Because Locke's politics is “already” serious in the sense of being firmly
situated within natural law, exceptional circumstances do not perform the same redemptive function.
Description
15 pages
Keywords
Political theology
Citation
Feldman, Leonard. "Schmitt, Locke, and the Limits of Liberalism." Konturen [Online], 1.1 (2008): n. pag. Web. 11 Dec. 2018