During the seventeenth and eighteenth century, there was a change in the thought process of mankind. Two prominent and opposing viewpoints came in the form of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. Thomas Hobbes was a man who influenced society’s thoughts on government. John Locke, on the other hand, had a heavy and lasting influence in the shaping of modern politics, the nature of individual rights, and the views on human nature. Hobbes and Locke both derived two states of nature that though they had some similarities were polar opposites. Formation of a government was a fuming topic for Thomas Hobbes and John Locke but more aptly the nature of man in being able to form a government. Hobbes explains humanity at a different level and thought process. …show more content…
He believes that there is a God but he does not strictly adhere to the religious wagon that many people are behind. According to John Locke, “The state of nature has a law of nature to govern it, which obliges every one: and…teaches all mankind…that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions” (Locke 6). He believes that our individualism is stemmed in a set of natural “rights” such as life, liberty, and the right to own property, which God has set. Also, Locke believes that humans are not only interested in surviving but in the survival of the community and the race as a whole. Due to this, Locke believed “Those who are united into one body, and have a common established law and judicature to appeal to, with authority to decide controversies between them, and punish offenders, are in civil society one with another…” (Locke 87). Furthermore, Locke believed “…absolute monarchy, which by some men is counted the only government in the world, is… inconsistent with civil society” because those who gave the consent to be governed would never willingly choose to follow a leading body that is more crooked than the state of nature that were set by God. (Locke 90). When the government becomes forceful and tyrant, Locke believes people “…should then rise themselves, and endeavor to put the rule into such hands which may secure to them the ends for which government was at first erected…” (Locke 225). Government is not stationary; it responds to human developments and human needs. It is the motion of transitioning from a state of nature with complete freedom and equality to a civil society where certain liberties are forsaken for safety and
If man is subjected to selfishness through human nature, and man runs government, than wouldn’t it be true that government can become a pit of greediness and self-indulgence? This is why both Locke and Madison favored and praised the ideas of checks and balances and the people being able to rid those in leading positions who they did not see fit in serving them. Both Locke and Madison agreed with the government being available for the people, to help the people but also
Locke believed that it is people’s inherent right to govern themselves. He “championed the social contract and government by consent”. (Steven) He even went so far to say that people did not need to be governed. All that government is is a framework by which people protect their natural rights, but it only needs to exist in practice.
John Locke was one individual who demonstrated the true identity for true happiness in America. He expressed his many views in books which foretold the many ways to achieve the pursuit of happiness. He believed that the government is predisposed to serve us, the people.(Locke Bio) John Locke wrote a book concerning civil government and he stated in bold words that “All mankind... being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions.(Locke) Locke’s statement is entirely true if we lived in a world without equality or independence we wouldn't be happy and most likely rebel. But what if we are all equal and independent would you harm a neighbor, a friend,a stranger?
“The state of nature has a law of nature to govern it, which obliges everyone: and reason, which of that law, teaches all of mankind, that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions.” this quote show that locke wanted all people to trust each other and to treat each other how they would want to be treated, with respect and trust that you have the best intentions for others not just yourself and to prove that you are not selfish. “Nothing was made by God for man to spoil or destroy. And thus considering the plenty of natural provision there was a long time in the world, and the few spenders… there could be then little room for quarrels or contentions about property so established.” Locke believed that if all men were to treat each other and all of their property equally there would be no arguments or fights over anything because everyone has equal things and equal opportunities in life.
John Locke and Thomas Hobbes were early English philosophers who each had very different views on the roles of the government and the people being governed. Their interpretations of human nature each had a lasting and vast impact on modern political science. Locke believed that men had the right to revolt against oppressive government. “‘Being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions.”
A number of factors played a part of choosing what government the founding fathers would choose. At first, they established the Articles of Confederation. The Articles were ratified during war with Britain, so it was set in a war based aura. It allowed the country to conduct foreign affairs, declare war, and make treaties. It could not collect taxes, but the states could.
John Locke was a philosopher and political scientist. He had many interests and produced a number of writings that influenced future leaders. One of these leaders was Thomas Jefferson, who was involved with the aid of America and the act gaining independence from Britain. The Declaration of Independence and Locke’s views on government contain many similar aspects. These ideas includes the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (natural rights); the protection that is provided by the government for these rights; and the altering or abolishment of government if it fails to provide and protect the rights of the people.
Locke's most important and influential political writings are contained in his Two Treatises on Government. The first treatise is concerned almost exclusively with refuting the argument that political authority was derived from religious authority. The second treatise contains Locke’s own constructive view of the aims and justification for civil government. According to Locke, the State of Nature, the natural condition of mankind, is a state of perfect and complete liberty to conduct one's life as one best sees fit, free from the interference of others. This does not mean, however, that it is a state of license: one is not free to do anything at all one pleases, or even anything that one judges to be in one’s interest.
Hobbes’s opinions about politics and government were far different from fellow English philosopher John Locke’s in his document Second Treatise of Government published in 1689. Locke existed during a much later period in Europe, when the Wars of Religion was over and England had established the Glorious Revolution Agreement between Dutch nobility, William and Mary, and Parliament. Due to the different time periods in which Hobbes and Locke lived, their experiences had a major effect on their opinions about government. Hobbes’ Leviathan and Locke’s Second Treatise of Government had different opinions regarding a man’s state of nature and social contract.
Locke He believed that no one’s life should be controlled by anyone but themselves, believed that people have right to preserve their life as they want to and This was the time when government and monarchy had full control over any type of property of people and also controlled people as slaves; they were the only ones living a free life while making others
When comparing the two different accounts of English philosophers Thomas Hobbes and John Locke we must take into consideration a number of things such as the age in which they lived and the time in which they produced their philosophical writings. We will however find out that these two philosophers actually have a couple of things in which agree on even though most of their opinions clash. On one side we have Thomas Hobbes who lived in the time of the English Civil War (1642-1651) who provides a negative framework for his philosophical opinions in his masterpiece Leviathan and who advocates for philosophical absolutism . On the other side we have John Locke, living during the glorious revolution (1688-1689) he presents a positive attitude in his book The Second Treatise of Government and advocates for philosophical and biblical constitutionalism. It is important that we know that the state of nature describes a pre- political society prior to the social contract.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Thomas Hobbes, two titans of the Enlightenment, work within similar intellectual frameworks in their seminal writings. Hobbes, in Leviathan, postulates a “state of nature” before society developed, using it as a tool to analyze the emergence of governing institutions. Rousseau borrows this conceit in Discourse on Inequality, tracing the development of man from a primitive state to modern society. Hobbes contends that man is equal in conflict during the state of nature and then remains equal under government due to the ruler’s monopoly on authority. Rousseau, meanwhile, believes that man is equal in harmony in the state of nature and then unequal in developed society.
Only those who are born with true philosophical understanding can rule. In the Second Treatise by John Locke, Locke addresses the state of nature, which is essentially equality and freedom. Even though people have liberty, they still need to obey natural laws. On the contrary of Plato’s just city, Locke believes that absolute authority is not a civil government. A civil society is where the majority rules.
Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau have become known as three of the most prominent political theorists in the world today. Their philosophies and innovative thinking is known worldwide and it has influenced the creation of numerous new governments. All three thinkers agree on the idea of a social contract but their opinions differ on how the social contract is established and implemented within each society. These philosophers state, that in order for the social contract to be successful people need to give up certain freedoms in order to secure fundamental protections from the state, henceforth the state then has certain responsibilities to their citizens. Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau all believe that before men were governed we all lived in a state of nature.
Thomas Hobbes proposed that the ideal government should be an absolute monarchy as a direct result of experiencing the English Civil War, in which there was internal conflict between the parliamentarians and the royalists. Hobbes made this claim under the assumption that an absolute monarchy would produce consistent policies, reduce conflicts and lower the risk of civil wars due to the singular nature of this ruling system. On another hand, John Locke counters this proposal with the view that absolute monarchies are not legitimate as they are inconsistent with the state of nature. These two diametrically opposed views stem from Hobbes’ and Locke’s different understandings of human nature, namely with regard to power relationships, punishment, and equality in the state of nature. Hobbes’ belief that human beings are selfish and appetitive is antithetical with Locke’s contention that human beings are intrinsically moral even in the state of nature, which results in Locke’s strong disagreement with Hobbes’ proposed absolute monarchy.