Similarities Between John Locke And Thomas Hobbes

In the grand birth of revolutionary ideas of the Enlightenment during the 18th century, there existed much controversy. There were those who existed to challenge progress and also progressives arguing over the ideal way to go about progress. French enlightenment thinker Rene Descartes would have probably divided enlightenment concepts using his coined Cartesian Dualism: science vs. religion, reasoning vs. superstition, and the theories of John Locke vs. those Thomas Hobbes. Though Hobbes and Locke both wanted political reform, Locke based his beliefs on positivity and popular sovereignty, while Hobbes was the polar opposite, advocating for strict dictatorial rule to control the greedy populous. Both theories of new government were revolutionary

Both men were of the United Kingdom, which in itself fosters an important history of government. Though England has been a monarchy of some sort for as long as it has existed, it has undergone many political shifts. In 1215, the nobility of England believed the king, John at the time, was abusing his power and had no restrictions. With the signing of the Magna Carta, power began to very slowly trickle down from the few to the many. Not long later Parliament was formed and they were actually given power hundreds of years later when the English Bill of Rights came into effect. Both Locke witnessed the history of their mother country and devised ways to cure the all political systems of the world, with as little bloodshed as possible. Hobbes came before Locke and was considered a founder of political philosophy, as at the time, nobody dwelt on the ideas of government; it was just the divine right of the king to rule because he was god’s chosen man and no questions asked. Though historians like to believe Locke and Hobbes were at each other’s throats with their contrasting ideas, Locke was greatly influenced by the teachings of Hobbes as a fellow political thinker. Though they were not in concurrence with their specific political views, they are both remembered as revolutionary philosophers who changed the way people thought about