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How Did John Locke Justify Absolutism

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During the seventeenth century and centuries before many European countries had monarchies that followed the ideas of the “divine right”. This meant that the king had absolute power and his power came from God, therefore no one would oppose the king because it would be going against God’s will. However, in England there was a constitutional monarchy. The English king and Parliament governed the nation together but, conflict soon arose between the English king and Parliament in the late seventeenth century. The struggle between the two for power would cause England to be ingulfed in civil war and cause other problems. Thomas Hobbes quote is a valid statement in justifying absolutism because he states the problems that occurs when there isn’t a sole ruler, therefore absolutism is needed to keep order. Seventeenth century England is a prime example of the problems that can occur when there isn’t an absolute ruler with full control of his nation. …show more content…

The new rulers of England were now William of Orange and his wife Mary and this conformation was known as a “Glorious Revolution”. However, this leads into two major response with completely different ideas. Thomas Hobbs and John Locke are the two political thinkers that will affect the thoughts of other with their ideas of a good government. Thomas Hobbs believes that absolutism is needed to keep order and peace among the people. This is a valid point because once England got rid of it monarchy the government wasn’t as stable, and therefore they restored if after the death of Cromwell. On the other hand, John Locke believed that if the government didn’t protect the natural rights of the people and if they didn’t do good by the people, then the people had a right to form a new government. These two ideas will linger in Europe affecting the way people in different countries view their government

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