How Did John Locke Create A Social Contract

John Locke was an English philosopher and physician; he was recognized as the "Father of Liberalism" and also as one of the most influential of the enlightenment thinkers. In one of his major works, Treatises of Government, Locke put his revolutionary ideas into prospective; these ideas related to the natural rights of man and the social contract. In the Second Treatise of his book, Locke outlines the theory of the social contract by describing the state of nature making a picture for us that is more secure than the picture Hobbes provides. Locke argues that all men are created equal. According to his argument, governments are only legitimate if they have the consent of the people. Therefore, any government that rules without the people's consent …show more content…
One of Hobbes major works, The Leviathan, established the social contract theory. In The Leviathan, Hobbes assumes what life would be like without government. According to Hobbes, without government we would lack the things necessary to make life suitable and we would fear death. Therefore, to avoid these things we the people must agree to a social contract and create a civil society. In this social contract we are agreeing to give up rights in order to have the government’s protection.
Both John Locke and Thomas Hobbes were social contract theorists and natural law theorists. They were both respected political philosophers and both of their writing have been influential to the development of the modern political thought. Locke was much more passive while Hobbes was more pessimistic when it came to their thoughts on human nature and society. Locke thought that citizens should have limits opposed on them and Hobbes thought that the only way for the government to function was by telling the people how to act. Despite their differences in opinions and styles, both men are seen as influential in the shaping of people, the government and the