The Political Philosophy Of Hobbes, Locke And Rousseau

I think that Prometheus is a perfect example of an egoist because he only cares about his happiness, he is miserable working for others, and because he thinks he owes nothing to everybody. “Egoism states that each man’s primary moral obligation is to achieve his own welfare, well-being, or self-interest…He should be ‘selfish’ in the sense of being the beneficiary of his own moral actions.” (Glossary of Definitions by Ayn Rand, pg. 12) In the book everything Prometheus does benefit him to reach his welfare in Happiness. On page 95 of Anthem Equality writes “For I know what happiness is possible to me on earth. And my happiness needs no higher aim to vindicate it.

Being an individual means you have the right of independence and making your own decisions, which is taken away from all the men in this society. I believe Equality would agree with the notions make in Ayn Rand’s short essay “How Does One Lead a Rational Life in an Irrational Society?” considering the points she offers, if he were to hear them. The evidence given from the book states there is no individuality within the men giving supporting aspects to why Equality would dislike his leaders. “Our name is Equality 7-2521, as it is written on the iron bracelet which all men wear on their left wrists with their names upon it. (18)” Intelligence is not power in this case because the Scholars have

Equality believes in the freedom of exploration, creation, and the act of doing by oneself as despised by his brothers who believe all acts should be done together as group. Not doing so shall be evil to them and considered threatening as Equality believes it is acceptable whether you do it or not. This is the disparity of Equality and his peer’s

“A world where no man will hold desire for himself, but will direct his efforts to satisfy the desires of his neighbor who’ll have no desires but to satisfy the desires of the next neighbor who’ll have no desires - and so on…”(The Soul of a Collectivist) The speech focuses on how one snuffs out the individual desires of man and makes him work for the collective body of he and his neighbors. To form a collectivist society personal desire must seem as though it is a selfish sin, nobody can be great because “Great men can’t be ruled”(The Soul of a Collectivist), and singular thought can not be

People consider Emerson the “father of Transcendentalism”. He believed that man would thrive if he trusted himself. Man was inherently good and could do no wrong. In Emerson’s “Nature”, a work about Emerson’s view on nature, he writes: “We must trust the perfection of the creation so far, as to believe that whatever curiosity the order of things has awakened in our minds, the order of things can satisfy” (Emerson Par 2). Man did not need to rely on society, or entangle himself in the patterns of the world; man’s intuition would be enough for his success.

He accepts the ignorance of total equality that is forced on him, but is contrastingly different from the image of a part of a communal whole. He searches for development of individual morality, but is struck dry by the restrictive society, by which he is forced to be, think, and live like everyone else, average and accepting. However, throughout, Anthem, by Ayn Rand, Equality’s view of morality transforms from group mentality and collectivism to individualism and independence due to the discovery of his true purpose for living; himself. Through the control of their citizens, Equality’s initial society forces him to feel guilt and loneliness through his differences, but as he discovers the rationalisation of his independence, he begins to develop a moral existence. In the beginning of the novella, Anthem, Equality is bound to his “brothers”, in a society of total equality, for which he is forced to sacrifice his intelligence and curiosity to fit the ideal of the equal being.

They all shared a main idea of natural rights. John Locke believed that all men had natural rights and they could state a person 's freedom and they could manage their belongings. In John Locke’s book, he says that “...We must consider, what state all men are naturally in…”(Document A). John Locke believed that the same species and rank should also be equal. Locke in his book stated that all men had natural rights to how they could manage their stuff.

Transcendentalism is the belief that man is inherently good, is an independent thinker, and goes out into nature to get in touch with himself. Generally, man has good intentions and intends no harm unto others. In addition, man does not need society to give him and develop his thoughts, as he already has them within. To help bring out these already installed beliefs, man has the desire to go out into nature to get in touch with himself and find deeper notions within. In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s writings “Self Reliance” and “American Scholar”, he writes about how being a true individual means that one must have his own beliefs, and not copy someone else’s ideas.

In Chapter 5, Locke establishes how important personal liberty is, in that each individual has the right to live and think as they choose as and that each person has equal opportunity to appropriate property and essentially reap equal benefits from the land based on their ability to develop the land. In Federalist #10, James Madison attempts to deal with problematic factions and the struggle to destroy them. Madison asserts, that men by nature form factions with similarly minded people (just like Locke’s claim the men are naturally self-serving), but the most important cause is the unequal distribution of property. Just like Locke, Madison argues that men with greater skill and talent usually have more property than people with less ability, but the government is supposed to encourage ability and equality. The only way to control a faction, Madison claims, would be to remove the causes of a faction- to do this, one has to destroy liberty, which is a “cure worse than the disease itself”.

Hobbes believes that the state of nature is a state of war and that no morality exists. Being that the “weakest” could kill the “strongest” men are considered equal. Locke believed the state of nature is not good or bad, it is considered chaotic. Rousseau believed that humans in a state of nature are equal and free. In a state of nature, men are “Noble Savages” and civilization is what actually corrupted them.