Over the years, there have been many philosophers who have pondered what the ideal type of government would be. Should it be ruled by the people that it governed, or should it be under the control of a higher power, such as a king or queen? How much control should an effective government hold over its people? When these topics are discussed, two great philosophers are often mentioned: Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. Although their views contradict each other, both men are well respected in the world of political philosophy.
Thomas Hobbes was a political theorist and philosopher. He is well-known for his work, Leviathan, in which he describes the commonwealth as a sea monster or an artificial body much stronger than any man of nature. This
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He thought that the nature of mankind revolves around selfishness and that men will throw themselves into constant wars when left to themselves. For this reason, Hobbes supports an absolute monarchy to help control the public. Hobbes concludes that a strong government will protect its people from themselves.
In contrast to Hobbes’ views, John Locke supported a limit on the government’s power. It’s in Locke’s work Two Treatises of Government that he describes what he thinks is the base of a successful government. He believed that every man was born with certain inalienable rights, such as life, liberty, and property. In his view, the government should protect these rights. The government should be set up to where no one person has too much power, or the risk of a tyranny or a dictatorship runs high. In a situation like this, the people could easily be stripped of the inalienable rights that they were born with.
Locke didn’t believe the nature of mankind to be as dark as Hobbes. Locke believed that no man ought to hurt another man and that he will live his life as best as he sees fit. For the most part, men are not just selfish beasts in the eyes of Locke. He sees people as social