Political philosophy

Communism, government’s duty to society and the process by which said duty is achieved has become an important question. Political philosopher and constitutional founder James Madison sought to maximize the liberty of the American people, while still allowing the government power over it’s people. Through discussion and analysis of Madison’s model as it relates to political philosophy, establishing power, alleviating corruption, and the protection of rights and liberties, this essay will prove…

race, socio-economic status or any other social position, certain rights would be agreed upon. These equal opportunities shaped his political philosophy, which became known as justice as fairness. It was theorized by Rawls that when it came to social or economic inequalities, they must benefit the least well off (Class notes). He advocated rethinking the philosophies that the nation was founded on. The founding fathers did not have the veil of ignorance when they drafted the constitution, and so…

John Rawls puts forth a political philosophy arguing for the concept of justice as fairness in a book called A Theory of Justice. Rawls argues that a just political constitution is removed from the personal interest of individuals. Rawls says that the principles of a just political constitution should be made behind a veil of ignorance, whereby those who draft the constitution “… do not know [their] economic or political situation, or the level of civilization and culture [they] [have] been able…

debate regarding man’s natural state has been at the forefront of political philosophy for hundreds of years now. This is because a lot of philosophers have used their understanding of the natural state of man as a foundation to build their arguments on. Furthermore the understanding of man’s natural state has directly led to the formation of political ideologies in the form of contracts in both Hobbes’s and Rousseau’s political philosophies. On one hand, Hobbes believes that man in the state of…

This essay will be answering “To what extent has Nelson Mandela followed Machiavellian Political philosophies?” and the word extent means here being two sided. Machiavelli was an Italian Renaissance political philosopher and statesman, secretary of the Florentine republic, who is well known for his legendary work The Prince which made him known as a disbeliever and a dishonest cynic. Nelson Mandela who was a non-white nationalist and was the first black president of South Africa, in the 1990’s…

preserving liberty. The political philosopher John Locke helps to bring to light the nature of humanity and how it can be structured around a social contract. This contract would enable individuals certain rights by allowing government officials to enforce a law that protects members of society from being oppressed or denied freedom. I admire the virtues in which Locke fights for; namely, the right to life, liberty, and owning property. These essential virtues, when under the political structure…

English philosopher, political economist, and liberal John Stuart Mill published one of his most famous works in 1859: On Liberty. Mill explores the innate and given liberties of people, analyzing what is the extent in which society or government has valid reasons to exercise power over its people. He argues that the individual should not be under the jurisdiction of society or government if their actions are not harming anyone but themselves. The only time society or government should involve…

As is today, unfortunatley a politiians general belief may conflict with what they "know" is the right thing to do in the situation. Take the Louisiana Purchase by Jefferson. We see earlier that unless the Constitution stated a power was specifically granted to the federal government, it would be transfered to the state. However, at this time, Jefferson as president, was altering treaties and ultimately buying land when he himself admitted it was unconstitutional in private. Jefferson believed…

that democracy comes from openness of the system to group interests, and competition, but not as a result of mass participation. On the other hand, the majoritarian view is based upon a decision by majority. Majoritarianism is a traditional political philosophy that declares that a majority of the population is entitled to a certain degree of priority in society. It also means that the population has the right to make decisions that affect the society. This traditional view has come under…

What was the historical significance of the political work of Hobbes? Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) was an English philosopher and political writer, best known for his book “Leviathan” (1651), in which he set out his political views on society and how governments should conduct themselves. Hobbes was writing at a very important point in history: England was going through the turmoil of civil war and this was a major influence on Hobbes’ political work. Also, Hobbes was writing just before the…