Hobbes and Locke are both social contract theorists who have influenced many citizens of this country. To begin, they both start out talking about human nature. Locke and Hobbes had very different views regarding human nature. Locke claimed human nature as reason and Hobbes claimed it as power and appetite. Locke believes that reason is the primary attribute of human nature. Hobbes, on the other hand, thinks that people only care about power and appetite. We want certain things and we want to get power to get those things. Hobbes’ view is that there is no such thing as responsibility. Moreover, we look at the state of nature. Locke stated that the state of nature is the state of no government; law that obliges everyone and reason. With this
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We are obligated to preserve ourselves. 2) Liberty- without liberty, we can’t preserve ourselves, and we are responsible to God to do so. 3) Property- we have the right to mix labor with creation, and the right to keep the fruits of our labor. In other words, we have the right to the part of creation to which we labored for. With property you have two limitations, however. You have to leave as much raw materials for everyone else, and you cannot have spoilage. 4) Right of execution- the right to defend our other three natural rights by any means necessary. This, the right of execution, is given up to the government in exchange for preservation of the other three natural rights. Hobbes views the state of nature as not a good place. He thinks of it as short and brutal. Weaker people can gain up on the stronger people. This makes everyone feel like they have a chance to get what they want. Sometimes, a lot of people want the same exact thing. Unfortunately, we can’t all have the same thing. So, according to Hobbes, appetite, scarcity, and power are key features of the state of nature. He views the state of nature as full of violence and fear, but also full of people only looking out for …show more content…
Hobbes advocates for extensive government power to protect people from the state of nature. He thinks that everyone is a bully. Eventually, one particular bully proves to be stronger and able to bully more than others. At this point, the other bullies follow in line with this big bully which not only strengthens this bully, but also keeps the other bullies safe from the “lead” bully so to speak. Hobbes says that that is how government is formed. The biggest bully becomes the leader of the government and keeps people safer than they would be in the state of nature. The people will stay in line because having the sovereign in control gets them out of the bad state of nature. Simply put, we get scared, and then we want the government to fix it- to make it go away, however, the government needs more power to do so, so we give it to them so we can feel safe. The purpose of government to Hobbes is safety, and the government can do whatever it wants to as long as it keeps people safer than they would be in the state of nature. Hobbes believes that government isn’t limited by anything. It can do whatever is necessary to keep the people safe. For Locke, government is limited by its purpose. Its purpose is to preserve natural rights. If it isn’t doing this, then it is illegitimate and needs changed. Locke goes on to talk about social contract. It is between people and it forms a government. Under this, we give
We are obligated to preserve ourselves. 2) Liberty- without liberty, we can’t preserve ourselves, and we are responsible to God to do so. 3) Property- we have the right to mix labor with creation, and the right to keep the fruits of our labor. In other words, we have the right to the part of creation to which we labored for. With property you have two limitations, however. You have to leave as much raw materials for everyone else, and you cannot have spoilage. 4) Right of execution- the right to defend our other three natural rights by any means necessary. This, the right of execution, is given up to the government in exchange for preservation of the other three natural rights. Hobbes views the state of nature as not a good place. He thinks of it as short and brutal. Weaker people can gain up on the stronger people. This makes everyone feel like they have a chance to get what they want. Sometimes, a lot of people want the same exact thing. Unfortunately, we can’t all have the same thing. So, according to Hobbes, appetite, scarcity, and power are key features of the state of nature. He views the state of nature as full of violence and fear, but also full of people only looking out for …show more content…
Hobbes advocates for extensive government power to protect people from the state of nature. He thinks that everyone is a bully. Eventually, one particular bully proves to be stronger and able to bully more than others. At this point, the other bullies follow in line with this big bully which not only strengthens this bully, but also keeps the other bullies safe from the “lead” bully so to speak. Hobbes says that that is how government is formed. The biggest bully becomes the leader of the government and keeps people safer than they would be in the state of nature. The people will stay in line because having the sovereign in control gets them out of the bad state of nature. Simply put, we get scared, and then we want the government to fix it- to make it go away, however, the government needs more power to do so, so we give it to them so we can feel safe. The purpose of government to Hobbes is safety, and the government can do whatever it wants to as long as it keeps people safer than they would be in the state of nature. Hobbes believes that government isn’t limited by anything. It can do whatever is necessary to keep the people safe. For Locke, government is limited by its purpose. Its purpose is to preserve natural rights. If it isn’t doing this, then it is illegitimate and needs changed. Locke goes on to talk about social contract. It is between people and it forms a government. Under this, we give