The Political Theories of Locke and Hobbes
Political Theories of Locke and Hobbes John Locke influenced Western political thought immensely. He lived during the age of political upheaval, the Glorious Revolution. During this time, the Tories and the Whigs, England's first two political parties, joined together to rid their country of the tyrannical James II and welcomed as their new co-rulers his daughter, Mary, and her Dutch husband, William. Locke witnessed these events from the Netherlands, where he had fled in 1683 because he foresaw the accession of the absolutist and Catholic-leaning James II. These events greatly influenced his political theories. Throughout his writings, Locke argued that people had the gift of reason. Locke thought they had the natural ability to govern themselves and to look after the well being of society. He wrote, "The state of nature has a law of nature to govern it, which treats everyone equally. Reason, which is that law, teaches all mankind...that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health or possessions." Locke did not believe that God had chosen a group or family of people to rule countries. He rejected the "Divine Right," which many kings and queens us
John Locke spoke out against the control of any man against his will. In fact, Hobbes came up with the phrase "voice of the people," which meant that one person could be chosen to represent a group with similar views. During Hobbes' lifetime, business began to have a big influence on government. Locke wrote, "We have learned from history we have reason to conclude that all peaceful beginnings of government have been laid in consent of the people. Hobbes wrote, "All man kind is in a perpetual and restless desire for power. In addition, Hobbes felt that nations, like people, were selfishly motivated. Those who could contribute money to the government were given great status, and business interests were very powerful. In order to offset the growing power of business, Hobbes believed that an individual could be heard in government by authorizing a representative to speak on their behalf. Left to themselves, he thought, people would act on their evil impulses. The best government was one that had the great power of a leviathan. Instead, he argued that governments should only operate with the consent of the people they are governing. Hobbes believed in the rule of a king because he felt a country needed an authority figure to provide direction and leadership.
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