John Locke And Rousseau Essay

Since the 1600s, European philosophers have introduced new ideas on ways they believe the nation should be governed. The philosophies of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Baron de Montesquieu display concepts of democracy. Hobbes demonstrated democracy by examining beliefs such as citizens giving a ruler absolute power through a social contract for a result of security and order. He thought that each individual was naturally equal; therefore, each citizen did what was needed in order to survive. As a result, life was “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” Hobbes then came up with an idea called the “social contract” that would hand over their power to the sovereign, which would make and enforce laws to make a peaceful society, making life, liberty, and property possible. Even though Locke often agreed with Hobbes about the brutality of the state of nature, he disagreed with him about natural rights. He thought most people were moral and reasonable and believed that all men were granted to the right to life, liberty, and property and these rights could never be taken away. He also thought the best kind of government was of which had limited power. He agreed that if the government tried to take away basic rights of the citizens, then the citizens could take

In his ideal society, the people would make the laws and then obey them willingly. He believed there was too few people who had control over the masses. He said, “the people, being subject to the laws, should be the authors of them. The rules of society should be set solely by its members.” He also argued that the social contract was not fair, but a fraud made by the rich individuals. He also agreed with Locke, that no individual should give up his/her rights to a king. Rousseau believed the best form of government was to have everyone express their ideas and to make the laws; similar to a democracy on a