Thomas Hobbes And The United States

Locke’s idea of the state of nature men had kept their promises and honoured their obligations. In locke’s first treatise he argued that there was no divine right for monarchs, because God didn't put men above others and therefore everyone was equal. In his second treatise he strikes Hobbes and speaks his thought on the state of nature “man is free and in this condition all men equal”. For Locke, in the state of nature all men are free to order their actions, of their possessions and persons, as they think fit, within the of the law of nature. This idea influenced him to believe that human nature is represented by reason and tolerance the reasoning was "The state of Nature has a law of Nature to govern it", and that law is the reason. Much different than Hobbes, who had believed people were selfish and needed to be

With these natural causes of quarrel, Hobbes concludes that the natural condition of humans is a state of perpetual war of all against all, where no morality exists, and everyone lives in constant fear (p.45). He believes that humans have three motivations for ending this state of war: the fear of death, the desire to have an adequate living and the hope to attain this through one’s labor (p.47). These beliefs become valid because of the use of his examples. One example suggests that people are barbaric to each other. With the absence of international law, strong countries prey on the weakness of weak countries. I believe that his views of moral behavior are very true. Like Hobbes said, people are out for their well-being. If I were to do a favor for someone, I may think I am helping someone out, which I am, but I am probably doing the favor because it is going to make me feel better. It is going to benefit my well being. Hobbes is a famous philosopher whose views were very controversial. But the fact that he lived in a time when the monarchy was the “divine right of kings” (p.42), makes his views valid today. With a different government and new laws, his views appear to be true.

John was the most influential political philosopher of the modern period. John wrote the two treatises of government in which he defended the claims that men are by nature “free and equal against claims that God had made all people naturally subject to monarchy” (). He also, argued that the people did have rights, such as, the right to life, liberty, and property, in which they have a foundation independent of the laws of any particular society. Locke also claimed that men are naturally free and equal as part of jurisdiction for understanding legitimate political government. Apparently, the government exists by the consent of the people and, that is in order to protect the rights of the people and promote the public good, for that reason if the government fails it can be resisted and replaced with a new government.

Why is this information important? By defining the intent of man, Hobbes is setting up the need for absolute sovereignty to create a conducive community where man can live with others. If he can establish that man is inherently seeking only for himself, he can create the need for a ruling authority. Hobbes will have to establish a need for man to have to deal with others to live. He will have to come up with a way for man to need to enter an agreement, and the rules of such agreements.

     Essentially what Hobbes is saying by all of this is that human beings are not fit to govern themselves. The notion of the social contract serves the purpose of saving us from ourselves because, according to Hobbes, humans are not able to do that on their own. The idea of acting on behalf of the common good is, while comprehensible in theory, impossible for humans to execute.

John Locke was an exemplary English philosopher. He argued in his book, The Second Treatise of Government, that governments need to be controlled through the interests of the citizens safety and preservation. Preservation is not just limited to life, but also the protection of liberty and property. Natural rights and the social contract allows this to be ensured. In fact, he states that, “ “.

i.e. If I promise not to hurt you and you promise not to hurt me then neither of us gets hurt and we’re both happy. And this is what Hobbes believes to be the basis of our desire to keep the laws set out by the state – we should avoid chaos because it is not in our best interests therefore we should keep the laws.

John Locke’s Second Treatise on Government presents a contrast of ideas comparing the law of nature and the government. Locke begins to explain the meaning and purpose behind the law of nature. Locke states that the law of nature teaches us that all mankind is equal and has the right to independence. No one is allowed to harm another's life, liberty, health and possessions. Locke exclaims how one man does not hold a higher status than another man. With that being said, a man must learn how to preserve the rest of mankind. Every man has the right to initiate punishment and “be executioner of the law of nature”. Although as the excerpt moves to chapter nine, Locke discusses why one would give up their freedom in order to join a society with others.

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.

He also tried to answer the question “Why do we have government.” Hobbes believed people were selfish and evil and he also believed that before government people were always at war. One of Hobbes major beliefs about government was that there should only be one person in power to prevent disagreements, and no

In order to fully grasp Hobbes' theory of Social Contract, one must first become familiar with his basic premises of "The State of Nature." In this state each individual is inherently in a perpetual state of war, due to several given reasons. Hobbes assumes that "Nature hath made men…equall."

Essentially a royalist and a belief in the selfishness and vanity of the       individual, he espoused that men should join together in the formation of       a commonwealth, one with a sovereign, to whom all responsibility for       social order and public welfare would be entrusted to (Kemerling). He felt       that investing power in a single natural person who can choose advisors       and rule consistently without fear of internal conflicts is the best       fulfillment of our social needs (Kemerling). Hobbes had two reasons why a       sovereign was needed: to protect the citizens from themselves and to       protect the nation from other nations. When men are together, without a       master, they tend to be aggressive and malicious towards each other. The       causes of this are usually competition, diffidence, and glory (Blanchard).

Hobbes believed that in nature people had to do whatever was necessary to survive and that even if living together, people were still likely to fight. His view of people was dark and most likely due to the horrors of a series of political schemes and armed conflicts he had seen during the English Civil War. He believed that a contract was necessary. Hobbes felt that people were not capable of living in a democratic society. Instead, a single dominant ruler was needed, and if everyone did their part, then the community would function smoothly. Hobbes’ theory is unlike Locke and Rousseau’s. He believed that once the people gave power to the government, the people gave up the right to that power. It would essentially be the cost of the safety the people were seeking.

Contrarily, John Locke presents a more positive worldview concerning the natural human condition and social contract theory. In his work Second Treatise of Government, Locke writes, “Being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions” (Second Treatise of Government, II). Here, Locke establishes that people in their natural state (“all equal and independent”) shall refrain from interfering with another individuals’ natural rights (life,

By equality, Hobbes meant equal ability and the equal hope of attaining the ends individuals aspired for. The physically weak may achieve by cunning what the strong could accomplish through force. Hobbes also saw humans as active creatures with a ‘will’. Hobbes believed, a permanent rivalry existed between human beings for honor, riches and authority, with life as nothing but potential warfare, a war of everyone against the others.