General Government

ideas on the state of nature contribute to their diverging ideas on their accounts of government by social contract. Hobbes argues for citizens relinquishing their authority to the state, while Rousseau contends for the sovereign authority to be in the hand of the citizens. I will argue that Rousseau makes a more convincing argument because it is one of compromise rather than extremism. Hobbes’ account of government by social contract is based on the basic principle and rational that people…

John Locke all have different theories on how a government should be created. They each have their own beliefs on the ideal social contract, and these different social contracts all lead to different forms of government. Out of the three contracts that are presented, John Locke provides the only contract that is capable of leading to a legitimate state. The contracts of Rousseau and Hobbes are unrealistic and they would not lead to a legitimate government. Before we delve into the reasons why…

“Government is necessary to ensure the proper use of force. For this reason it must specify objective lows to clarify the use of force, and it must have the ability to enforce these laws. The purpose of government is to protect the individual rights of its citizens” [1] In 2001 the Government of India said it would propose a bill banning Tobacco Companies from advertising and promoting sporting and cultural events. This led to major debate in India about the feasibility of such a law…

bones through this program. While most information was kept to the ground, evidence exists (see Gomery Report or Auditor Generals report) that this program was a failure to the Canadian people. There was still complete disregard for the notion of accountability, transparency, ministerial responsibility and responsible government: the very foundations of Canadian law and government. More specifically, the Gomery Commission was able to show through extensive interviewing that senior officials,…

In this paper I will compare and contrast several forms of governments as forms of government in Ancient Greek city-states. The five forms of government are; Monarchy, aristocracy, tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy. Let's start with the statement that Isocrates makes (Halsall, 1999) about Spartans being "subject to oligarchy at home, to kingship on campaign". Tells us that there was a contrast in how Spartans treated other Spartans and how they treated those they conquered. Oligarchy can be…

The social contract, which is agreed upon by the majority of the citizens is based on the general will of the people, that aims for the common good of each individual in the state. It aims at structuring the state, so that people can live in a civilized society as well as pleasing each individual. However it also intends to create rules and laws, which construct a safe and secure environment for the citizens of the said state. Thus it is based on laws rather than power. Being a part of this…

before it can be brought to policy makers' attention. For example, the inaction of many governments regarding tobacco before the general public became aware of its health effects cannot be considered public policy, because there was no known problem at the time. However, inaction does become public policy if there is a problem that the public is concerned about and wants the government to act on and the government chooses to do little or nothing. Here there is a known problem that policy makers…

s intuitive as the ideals of political freedom and equality have become in many parts of the world, these ideas were revolutionary when first pondered by philosophers. Thinkers Jean Jacques Rousseau and John Locke both pioneered these concepts in their works, and though their theories of a legitimate state mirrored each other in certain regards, their ideas also differed about what freedom and equality should look like. While both agree that a legitimate state must eliminate societal inequality,…

was the federal governments right to levy taxes. This was of the upmost concern because, according to the Anti-Federalists, “It is proper to remark, that the authority to lay and collect taxes, is the most important of any power that can be granted; it connects with almost all other powers” (Brutus 1, 111). The power to tax is fundamental to how governments are able to govern. It is the base of all other government functions. The Anti-Federalists thought that the Federal government could…

Information Act of the United States was passed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966, allowing for all people to request to see documents controlled by different aspects of the government and to allow for people to attend government meetings. It was meant to increase the transparency, honesty and security of the government despite the restrictions in the exemptions allowed within the act. Even with this act the nation was led to a nationwide shock as the secrets of the Watergate scandal in…