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Compare And Contrast Locke And Hobbes

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Thomas Hobbes’ Chapter XIII of the Leviathan, along with John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government both cover similar topics regarding enlightened thinking, government, and the states of nature and war. Hobbes stands by the idea that mankind’s state of nature is corrupt, and that they are in a constant state of war. Locke, on the other hand, believes that the state of nature is perfect, however when a man attempts to take arbitrary power over another, they then go into a state of war. Though contrary to the other, both Hobbes and Locke make powerful claims to support their ideas on nature and war.
Hobbes and Locke share congruent ideas on equality. Hobbes claims that all men are of equal strength to one another based on the idea that everybody …show more content…

Regarding the state of nature and state of war, Hobbes’ and Locke’s opinions differ vastly. Because Hobbes believes that men are equal “...in the faculties of the body and mind…” (Hobbes, Leviathan), they are equal in hope, and therefore become more competitive. Hobbes claims that all men desire to “master” or dominate anybody who poses a threat. These ideas go under Hobbes’ understanding of the state of nature, suggesting that men are violent no matter which state. He also says that “during the time men live without a common power to keep them all in awe, they are in that condition which is called war, and such a war as is of every man against every man.” (Hobbes, Leviathan). Men are constantly willing to go into a state of war, and only with the protection of a greater power will their urges be suppressed. With this quote, he defines the state of war as every man is the enemy of another, declaring his pessimistic ideas of mankind. Hobbes then goes on to reiterate that the condition of war is only apparent when people have “no common power to fear” (Hobbes, Leviathan). He stresses that without any common power there is no law, to which men will not know what is forbidden or not, leading to chaos. Men are prone to stay civil if there is fear, which the law and injustice

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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.

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He wrote many things that inspired the Constitution, including the belief that all people are born with certain inalienable rights like life, liberty, and right to own property, “every man has a property in his own person…the labor of his body and hands are properly his” (71). Unlike Hobbes, Locke believed people were not inherently evil, they could govern themselves, and did not need a sovereign power. Locke also had a different idea of what the state of nature was. He believed that it was a world of perfect liberty in which citizens can conduct their own lives as they see fit, “the state of nature has a law of nature to govern it which obliges everyone”; the state of nature was not a world of chaos and all-out war, as Hobbes would suggest (69). Hobbes believed that the only way to prevent the war against man was to create a strong government with absolute power that focused on keeping people in line.

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Locke’s vision of continual consent to governmental rule is much more appealing than Hobbes’s tyrant. Even though his views on human nature seem too good to be true, Locke’s philosophy is alluringly practical. If you do not agree with your government, simply leave and find another government you do agree with. Additionally, Locke’s plan protects the citizens by giving them leave to make their own decisions. Hobbes’s view is doubly flawed: his opinion on human nature forces his government to fail morally.

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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.

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