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Comparing John Locke And Thomas Hobbes Regarding The Natural State Of Humanity

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The debate between John Locke and Thomas Hobbes regarding the natural state of humanity has been a topic of discussion for centuries. Both philosophers have distinct views on human nature and the state of society without government control. In this paper, I will explore the arguments of both Locke and Hobbes and argue in favor of Locke's perspective.

John Locke believed that people are born with natural rights, including life, liberty, and property. He argued that in a natural state, people would form a social contract to protect their rights and ensure their safety. Locke believed that the government's primary function is to protect individual rights, and if it failed to do so, it could be overthrown. In other words, Locke's view of the natural …show more content…

He argued that in a natural state, people would be in a constant state of war, and life would be "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." Hobbes believed that a strong government was necessary to maintain social order and prevent people from acting on their violent impulses. In Hobbes' view, the government's primary function is to maintain order and protect people from each other.

From my perspective, I support John Locke's view of the natural state. I believe that people are inherently good and that they possess natural rights. In a state without government control, people would form a social contract to protect their rights and ensure their safety. The government's role should be to protect individual rights, and if it failed to do so, it could be overthrown. This view aligns with the idea of democracy, where the people hold the power, and the government is accountable to them.

Locke's view of the natural state is appealing to me because it emphasizes individual freedom and equality. In a society where people have equal rights and opportunities, there is more room for creativity and innovation. The government's role should be to provide a level playing field and ensure that no one is left

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John Locke and Thomas Hobbes were early English philosophers who each had very different views on the roles of the government and the people being governed. Their interpretations of human nature each had a lasting and vast impact on modern political science. Locke believed that men had the right to revolt against oppressive government. “‘Being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions.”

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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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Locke believed that the government was to protect the people’s natural rights. On the people’s behalf they must follow the laws of the land. The Declaration of Independence says “That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive …, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it…” Locke states, “…that he who attempts to get another man into his absolute power, does thereby put himself into a state of war with him...” and create a new political system.

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Since a child’s mind is so malleable, any person could shape it with assiduity. Locke also believed that each and every person is born with three basic natural rights: life, liberty, and property. One knows when these rights are being violated when someone tries to take your life, your liberty and if someone stole your possessions. Locke believed that government only existed to protect these natural rights. His father fought in what is known as the English Civil War, which is the war between Parliament and the King over how much power the King should have.

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Locke’s natural rights were critical for the formation of United States government as we know it today, especially through the writing of his Second Treatise on Government. This second treatise is what is most often quoted about Locke. This is his writing that contains an unrestricted defense of liberty and his concept of natural rights, life, health, liberty, and possessions. (Locke) He believed that governments should only be formed to protect those rights.

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As Thomas Jefferson stated in the Declaration of Independence, “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed” by stating this he’s saying no matter how powerful our government is it is still his job to protect our inalienable rights. The next topic that John Locke said impacted the Declaration of Independence was about if our government didn’t do its job to protect those rights he shouldn't be in our government. Another reason for the government is to put a stop to anything that is blocking people from their rights. As John Locke said in his Second Treatise of government “Society created order and grants the state its [purpose]… the only important role of the state is to ensure that justice is seen to be done”. The conclusion of this is that government is there to protect you, your rights, and

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Locke helped shape the United States government and many other nations governing systems around the world. Locke believed all men were born with the rights of life or your natural rights of liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and a government should protect and respect the rights of individuals. Under the protection of your government he believed “whom the society hath set over itself, with this express or tacit trust, that it shall be employed for their good, and the preservation of their property: now this power, which every man has in the state of nature, and which he parts with to the society in all such cases where the society can secure him, is to use such means, for the preserving of his own property, as he thinks good, and nature allows him; and to punish the breach of the law of nature in other” (Document C). By introducing natural rights the common people gained more power through an equality between all men. Natural rights gave people the right to possess and protect their own property both physical items and personal ideals.

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The social contract theory comes to effect when individuals are keen on leaving the state of nature, which entails a time of chaos and lawlessness. Hobbes views this state of nature as states of war where there are individuals constantly seeking to destroy each other in the constant quest for power. Whilst Hobbes believes that life in this state of nature is “nasty, brutish, and short,” Locke holds a more optimistic view of the state of nature. In Locke’s view of the state of nature, all men are free “to order their actions, and dispose of their possessions and persons, as they think fit, within the bounds of the law of

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Nonetheless, if the government fails to protect our property or rights, we can rebel against him and remove him from his place. Locke’s law creates a government, that can run the society peacefully, and the law of the society is based on practical reasons. Locke thinks the majority rules is the best system of government. Locke has a positive view of ‘human nature’. He thinks men are good, and they are born with natural rights.

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When comparing the two different accounts of English philosophers Thomas Hobbes and John Locke we must take into consideration a number of things such as the age in which they lived and the time in which they produced their philosophical writings. We will however find out that these two philosophers actually have a couple of things in which agree on even though most of their opinions clash. On one side we have Thomas Hobbes who lived in the time of the English Civil War (1642-1651) who provides a negative framework for his philosophical opinions in his masterpiece Leviathan and who advocates for philosophical absolutism . On the other side we have John Locke, living during the glorious revolution (1688-1689) he presents a positive attitude in his book The Second Treatise of Government and advocates for philosophical and biblical constitutionalism. It is important that we know that the state of nature describes a pre- political society prior to the social contract.

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