Comparing Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu And Rousseau

Locke’s thought on having a king, laws, and a civil society under a social contract was so all men can enjoy and protect their rights. Where all men obtain the right to life, all humans have the right to live and life shouldn't be taken away from another human being. The right to liberty, protecting an individual's freedom and unreasonable detention. The right to property, a citizen in which Locke thought a human's labour was his own, anything created or made should remain that individuals as well and the right to rebel against unjust rulers and laws.

In his Second Treatise on Government Locke focus’ on liberalism & capitalism, defending the claim that men are by nature free and equal against the idea that God had made all people subject to a king. He argued that people have ‘natural rights’, such as the right to life, liberty, and property, that hold the foundation for the major laws of a society. He says, “…we must consider, what state all men are naturally in, and that is, a state of perfect freedom to order their actions, and dispose of their possessions and persons as they think fit.” (2nd Treatise, Chapter 2, sec 4). John Locke used this claim, that all men were naturally free and equal, for understanding the idea of a government as a result of a social contract. This is where people in the state of nature transfer some of their rights to the government in order to better guarantee the steady and comfortable enjoyment of their lives, liberty, and property.

John Locke believed that citizens should give power to those who govern them but not absolute power. He suggested that the "power must remain with the ruled" (Fiero, 97). His social contract that he proposed was similar to Hobbes but

John Locke also believed that government should protect people's natural rights and people can revolt if the government fails or tries to take away peoples natural rights which were life, liberty and property. (doc5) Locke also wrote the 2 treaties of government where he argued that people form government to protect natural rights and the best kind of government had limited power and was accepted by all citizens. Montesquieu also believed that democracy was the best form of government and thought that the best way to protect liberty was to have the three branches of government legislative-creates laws, judicial-interprets laws and executive-enforces laws.(doc 6) He came up with the concept checks and balances which made sure that none of the branches of government had to much power, because they would watch over each other. In a book The Spirit of Laws he explained how he thought that this was the best government and how it was better than other governments throughout history and was a great way to protect liberty. Another ruler who believed that democracy was the best form of government as Rousseau. He believed that people in there natural state were mostly good. He put his faith in the "general will", and believed that the majority of the people should set forth their ideas about government. He put his ideas about society into the social contract.

His writings had a great impact in the perception of the leaders of America. John Locke was an English philosopher who highly influenced the Founding Fathers. He highly believed in natural science and in the growing middle class and represented the principles of the Enlightenment. In an essay Locke wrote concerning human understanding in 1690, Locke denied the idea of native beliefs and argued that every individual is born with a blank mind and that it is the environment that shapes the individual. Thomas Hobbes 's belief that kings govern by divine power was rejected by Locke. He believed that every human being was born equal and that the surroundings in the environment was what molded everyone. Locke argued that people are blessed with some natural rights such as liberty, life, and property. Locke was the philosopher that exposed the concept of governmental checks and balances which later became the foundation for the U. S. Constitution.

While reading the “The Second Treatise of Government,” you can notice and see that John Locke has a strong standing for civil rights as well as helping with the development of the Constitution of the United States. He states that the “consent of the governed,” is basically saying that communities are not put together by the divine right or ruled by. Paternal, familial, and political are types of powers that John Locke mentions that have all have unlike characteristics. He inspired others to believe in and want equal rights and democracy. John Locke talks about the state of nature, which basically states that no one has the power to be ruler of someone, as well as they are able to do what they want in a freely matter. In other words people are born just like anyone else that is born, and should have equally rights to property, health, and liberty, and that no one should have the power over anyone. Everyone should be able to live and enjoy his or her own freedom and wellbeing. However, the state of nature is not a guarantee to have natural laws, which could help with the protecting of one’s property. According to him having your own personal freedom was the true meaning of state of nature. John Locke thought that people were following his faith in human rationality through the declaration of Locke. John Locke states that if the government takes away from others for them to empower them then the people have right and opportunity to go against

A famous English philosopher known as John Locke was one of the most influential philosophers of the Enlightenment. His philosophy was based on the idea that certain rights are endowed upon people by nature and not dependent on the government; this philosophy is known as Natural Law. These rights are known as Natural Rights, and according to Locke they consist of life, liberty,

Unlike Hobbes, John Locke honestly believes in the good in man and affirms that they have the ability to maintain a civil society with limited government involvement. He credits man’s want to live in a safe and comfortable environment as the reason why they would come together peacefully, not the aggressive rule of government. Locke also believes that there should be a separation in powers of government in order to properly serve the

John Locke’s main idea was that the government should only be there to protect and provide for the people. He thought that society would be better if the government wasn’t so persistent in the lives of citizens. He also believed that people should deserve natural rights. It was his belief that people were born with these rights and that these rights should never be violated by anyone, including the government. He stated “[men are in] a state of perfect freedom to order their actions, and dispose of their possessions and persons, as they think fit, within the bounds of the law of nature…” (Doc. A). In other words, this quote shows that Locke believes that humans have natural rights and that people should be free to use them however they please. Therefore, he believed that no one, especially the government, should have power over peoples’ natural

John Locke was an incredibly encouraging figure in the development of the ideals and methods of political functioning in the United States of America. John Locke applied many of his studies to write one of his most famous and moving works. “The Second Treatises of Government” is the document which ultimately struck the United States in their creation of the Declaration of Independence. In Locke’s work he had focused on the idea that governments shouldn’t be dictated by anyone person, but ultimately should be a united entity in which everyone in the country has a say in what is happening. For example, John Locke believed that the government should be in charge of deciding who should be the leading figure of power and protecting their citizens’ “Life, Liberty, and Property”. He also believed that if the government failed to fulfill their duties of protecting their people and establishing a limit of power for the leading figure of the country, it was the responsibility of the citizens to “overthrow the government.” John Locke kept a similar mindset to that of Hobbes when it comes to the government and its power. Locke’s work and ideas would go on to be highly influential upon Thomas Jefferson during the process of writing the draft of the Declaration of Independence. In this document Jefferson kept very close ties to Locke’s ideas to create what he believed would be the ideal government.

John Locke was the man who began to express the idea of natural rights. The idea of natural rights is that all humans are born with three natural rights: life, liberty, and property. You are meant to respect these rights, which gives us limits as humans. For example, one can not just rob someone’s house without consequences. If someone does commit theft they are punished because they are

Next, under Locke’s state of nature, he also places a heavy emphasis on extensive rights, including property rights. He believed that self-determination implied private property rights and that human life without property is not free. In refutation to this

Locke was a skilled Philosopher, he did not disagree with monarchies but did not agree with the divine right of kings. He concurred with the idea, which he called natural rights. Natural rights were peoples rights to life, liberty, and property.

Locke believed that people are willing to unite under a form of government to preserve their lives, liberty, and estate. Since natural law is already good, government not only preserves natural law, but also works to enhance it.

Throughout history, there have been many political philosophers whom influenced the government seen in history books and in modern-day society. Despite the varying ideas about government by each political theorist, aspects of each individual idea can be seen in several political documents such as the United States Declaration of Independence. One of these political theorists being Thomas Hobbes, who believed that people would benefit greatly from a Monarch. While John Locke, another renowned political theorist believed that, though the government could help the people, but did not need absolute control over every aspect of their lives. Though, both theorists had different ideology on the structure of the government the ideas would later go on to influence several political documents including the United States Declaration of Independence.