Ever since the two men themselves walked the Earth, there has been considerably debate as to whether the political thought of Thomas Hobbes or John Locke was closer to the truth. Hobbes, characterized as the “Apologist for Absolutism” in The Western Heritage, believed that the natural state of man was one of continuous competition and would generally be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.” Therefore, he believed in a strong absolute monarch to keep the people under control. Locke, called the “Defender of Moderate Liberty” by the textbook, generally believed that in a natural state, man would be just as concerned with the rights of others as with their own. Therefore, government was to make sure that everyone’s rights were protected. In my opinion, neither of these men are completely correct with their thought. However, if I was to live in a society governed by the thought of one of these two men, I would choose to live in one designed by Locke. Hobbes’ rather pessimistic view of human nature renders his political thought doubtful. In his view, man exists only for bodily pleasure and other such selfish pleasures. Although there is some truth to that, his call for absolutism on those grounds is doubtful at best.
The Essay on A Young Mans Thoughts Before June the 16th
All the animals gullibility makes it easy prey for the corrupt leaders. The pigs then presented the 7 commandments to the animals . These were the rules they were supposed to live by . The apples were set aside for the pigs they justified their sacrifice as eating the apples , because they were the brainworkers and needed the nutrition . Squealer stated that the pigs did not even like milk and ...
In addition, Hobbes places all the responsibility for preventing man from misbehaving in the hands of the absolute monarch. How can he be so sure that this ruler will not be dominated by his own hopelessly selfish will? If his thought is correct, the ruler will use this power over the people for his own exclusive gain. To make the situation worse, in Hobbes’ system the people are unable to have any say in their ruling. Unless the commoners were nasty and brutish in their nature and the monarchs noble and generous, his system would not work. Lastly, history has shown that absolutism leads to widespread resistance. In France during the late eighteenth century, for example, the faltering of the monarchy led to the famous revolution that forever cast doubt on absolutism. Living in a system designed by Hobbes would make the common man’s life much worse. Although Locke’s thought is not flawless, his society would produce much more favorable living conditions. The true nature of man is somewhere between the beliefs of Locke and Hobbes, with a tendency to be closer to Locke’s model. Man is neither as sinister as Hobbes’ view, yet is not as virtuous as Locke believes.
However, this works well with Locke’s model for government, which was to preserve the rights of the people. Whether intentional or not, Locke left some room in his political thought to allow for the acts of utter selfishness that he left out of his thesis on the human spirit. In Hobbes’ social model, the halting of aggression from one man to the next does not make up for the loss of freedom to the central monarch. His limited governments could protect the rights of everyone while not preventing people from behaving naturally. In my humble opinion, this protection of basic rights while maintaining most freedoms would qualify as the ideal state. Finally, an analysis of most modern media, from the news to movies and beyond, reveals that freedom is very important to most people. That once again shows that freedom is the natural state of man, and nothing short of that will last for too long. Overall, the ideas of Locke are much more appealing due to his fundamental ideas about the human spirit. Those ideas had a lot of influence on many later political philosophers, and forever changed the politics of both Europe and the rest of the world. Both Locke and Hobbes were very important to European history, and there is no doubt that politics would be very different without them. However, it is Locke who comes closer to the perfect state.
The Term Paper on State Of Nature Hobbes Man Locke
... Hobbes, Locke also believed that all humans in a state of nature are equal. The difference between the two men s thought being how people ... fully functional legal system would do civilized society. Hobbes Conception of the State of Nature Although Locke maintained that humans ... of every man, against every man. 8 According to Hobbes, without some sort of political system of authority to keep people in ...
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Ever since the two men themselves walked the Earth, there has been considerably debate as to whether the political thought of Thomas Hobbes or John Locke was closer to the truth. Hobbes, characterized as the “Apologist for Absolutism” in The Western Heritage, believed that the natural state of man was one of continuous competition and would generally be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.” Therefore, he believed in a strong absolute monarch to keep the people under control. Locke, called the “Defender of Moderate Liberty” by the textbook, generally believed that in a natural state, man would be just as concerned with the rights of others as with their own. Therefore, government was to make sure that everyone’s rights were protected. In my opinion, neither of these men are completely correct with their thought. However, if I was to live in a society governed by the thought of one of these two men, I would choose to live in one designed by Locke. Hobbes’ rather pessimistic view of human nature renders his political thought doubtful. In his view, man exists only for bodily pleasure and other such selfish pleasures.
Although there is some truth to that, his call for absolutism on those grounds is doubtful at best. In addition, Hobbes places all the responsibility for preventing man from misbehaving in the hands of the absolute monarch. How can he be so sure that this ruler will not be dominated by his own hopelessly selfish will? If his thought is correct, the ruler will use this power over the people for his own exclusive gain. To make the situation worse, in Hobbes’ system the people are unable to have any say in their ruling. Unless the commoners were nasty and brutish in their nature and the monarchs noble and generous, his system would not work. Lastly, history has shown that absolutism leads to widespread resistance. In France during the late eighteenth century, for example, the faltering of the monarchy led to the famous revolution that forever cast doubt on absolutism. Living in a system designed by Hobbes would make the common man’s life much worse. Although Locke’s thought is not flawless, his society would produce much more favorable living conditions. The true nature of man is somewhere between the beliefs of Locke and Hobbes, with a tendency to be closer to Locke’s model.
The Essay on Jon Locke Man Hobbes Absolute
... inclined to be everyman for himself. Locke wanted people to have a social ... to their thoughts on mankind in general. John Locke saw mankind as naturally harmonious amongst each other and Hobbes thought that man was more ... Locke said that A king is not answerable for his decisions by mankind, as in the state of nature, if a man ...
Man is neither as sinister as Hobbes’ view, yet is not as virtuous as Locke believes. However, this works well with Locke’s model for government, which was to preserve the rights of the people. Whether intentional or not, Locke left some room in his political thought to allow for the acts of utter selfishness that he left out of his thesis on the human spirit. In Hobbes’ social model, the halting of aggression from one man to the next does not make up for the loss of freedom to the central monarch. His limited governments could protect the rights of everyone while not preventing people from behaving naturally. In my humble opinion, this protection of basic rights while maintaining most freedoms would qualify as the ideal state. Finally, an analysis of most modern media, from the news to movies and beyond, reveals that freedom is very important to most people. That once again shows that freedom is the natural state of man, and nothing short of that will last for too long. Overall, the ideas of Locke are much more appealing due to his fundamental ideas about the human spirit. Those ideas had a lot of influence on many later political philosophers, and forever changed the politics of both Europe and the rest of the world. Both Locke and Hobbes were very important to European history, and there is no doubt that politics would be very different without them. However, it is Locke who comes closer to the perfect state.
