“To understand Political Power right” he writes, “and derive it from its Original, we must consider what State all Men are naturally in… a State of perfect Freedom to order their Actions, and dispose of their Possessions, and Persons, as they think fit… depending upon the Will of any other Man… A State also of Equality, wherein all the Power and Jurisdiction is reciprocal, no one having more than another” ( Two Treatises, Book II. Both of these are fundamental principles for humanity for Locke. The state of nature, or natural society – the condition in which we find ourselves before the establishment of political society – consists of two essential conditions: freedom and equality. For Locke, though, juxtaposing these ideas was critical for laying the foundations of his political philosophy, particularly for establishing his view of human nature. The differentiation of these concepts had been well established before Locke and was rooted in the ‘natural law’ political tradition. Locke begins the Two Treatises by articulating the difference between what he calls the ‘natural state’ and the ‘political state’. In this article, I want to show how Jackson’s story can be used to illustrate aspects of Locke’s social contract theory. It describes his ideas on topics such as natural law, the evolution of political society, the social contract, majority rule, and the dissolution of governments. The Two Treatises is considered today to be one of the foundational texts of political liberalism. In fact, in 1689 he published two classic works which have each had a profound effect on the history of philosophy: An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, which outlined his empiricist philosophy, and Two Treatises of Government, which outlined his political theory. John Locke (1632-1704) was an English philosopher and physician, and is considered to be one of the most influential thinkers of the Enlightenment.

I have used the story many times in my American Studies classes – I typically use it as a way of introducing post-WWII American society – but it only recently struck me that this story can also be used to teach certain aspects of Locke’s social contract theory, as found in his Two Treatises of Government.

The story is about a fictional small town in America which conducts an annual ritual known as ‘the lottery’, whose purpose is to choose a human sacrifice to be stoned to death to ensure the community’s well-being and continued prosperity. Shirley Jackson uploaded to Creative Commons by Armen 2020

Jackson the lottery summary