Similarities Between Locke And Engels

During the 18th and 19th centuries, Europe experienced a number of revolutions that greatly affected the political and social landscapes of Europe for centuries. This time period saw the rise of several theories that focused mainly on the relationship between the government and the citizens. Often, these theories would differ, but remain similar in nature, with an emphasis on the citizens having the natural rights to change the government if needed. However, the political theories of John Locke and Karl Marx and his colleague Friedrich Engels were vastly different in nature. Locke wrote his most famous work, Two Treatises of Government in 1869 during the Age of Enlightenment in Europe and focused on the social contract between the government and citizens wherein the government is granted its ability to rule through the will and consent of the citizens. Conversely, in The Manifesto of the Communist Party (1848) Marx and Engels envisioned a society where the government was part of the citizenry and was therefore able to avoid the social and economic inequality that historically occur in traditional Locke-type governments. Both Locke and Marx & Engels have similar political ideas, especially concerning the ideas of the natural rights of citizens and the ability of citizens to alter the way the government functions. However, these thinkers differ in their vision of the optimal …show more content…
Locke’s system of the social contract and Marx & Engels Communist views were similar in that both systems intended to create a government that would be based on fairness and equality for all citizens. However, the execution method between these two ideas was different, as Locke believed in allowing the government to have granted power over the people, and Marx and Engels believed in merging the government with the