Political Philosophies Of Thomas Hobbes And John Locke

In the 17th century, Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were philosophers who developed beliefs about the nature of man, which influenced their political philosophies and ideas about the social contract between the people and their government. Thomas Hobbes believed that all humans were naturally wicked and selfish. He stated that without a government there would be war with every man against each other and life would be solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short. Meanwhile, John Locke believed that all humans were naturally good and could learn from their experiences and improve themselves. He thought as reasonable human beings, humans had the natural ability to govern their own affairs and to look after themselves. In my view, John Locke´s philosophy …show more content…
Back then he believed that all humans are born with their natural rights; life, liberty, and property. He had the idea of a direct democracy for his people. The government’s purpose was to protect the rights of people and for it’s power to come from the consent of the people. In the United States democracy: Citizens elect representatives to national, state, and local government which create the laws that govern U.S society. The U.S government is split into three branches legislative, judicial, and executive in order to prevent one branch from gaining too much power. Unlike Thomas Hobbes, who believed human beings should pursue their own self-interest relentlessly. Therefore the type of government, he advocated was an absolute monarchy. This type of government supported that there should be a supreme power of some kind in society, without stating definitively which sort of sovereign power is …show more content…
For instance, in source #3 “Why Your Worst Deeds Don't Define You” it's based off a young man (19 years old) who went to jail for killing someone. Before this, growing up he was an honor roll/scholarship student and had the dream to become a doctor, but due to a tragic event in life. His parents ended up having a divorce, which impacted his decisions and thoughts on life. He wasn't in the right state of mind. Later on in his journey he gained redemption due to viewing his true values/aspects in life. This is why even though people don't always make the right decisions, it doesn't justify what kind of person they truly are. According to Locke in his beliefs he had stated that people had the ability to learn from their experiences and improve