Political System Philosophy Several f the greatest philsphers f the past identified themselves in the wrld histry nt by nly writing the philsphical wrks but als by defining the ideal (t their pint f views) plitical structure. Three f the mst imprtant are Jhn Lcke, Thmas Hbbes, and Jean Jacques Russeau. In particular, Jhn Lcke influenced Western plitical thught immensely. He lived during the age f plitical upheaval, the Glrius Revlutin. During this time, the Tries and the Whigs, Englands first tw plitical parties, jined tgether t rid their cuntry f the tyrannical James II and welcmed as their new c-rulers his daughter, Mary, and her Dutch husband, William. Lcke witnessed these events frm the Netherlands, where he had fled in 1683 because he fresaw the accessin f the abslutist and Cathlic-leaning James II. These events greatly influenced his plitical theries.
Thrughut his writings, Lcke argued that peple had the gift f reasn. Lcke thught they had the natural ability t gvern themselves and t lk after the well being f sciety. He wrte, The state f nature has a law f nature t gvern it, which treats everyne equally. Reasn, which is that law, teaches all mankindthat being all equal and independent, n ne ught t harm anther in his life, health r pssessins. Lcke did nt believe that Gd had chsen a grup r family f peple t rule cuntries. He rejected the Divine Right, which many kings and queens used t justify their right t rule. Instead, he argued that gvernments shuld nly perate with the cnsent f the peple they are gverning.
The Essay on It Is No Secret That The Declaration Of Independence One
... of the main documents of the United States. Hbbes and Lcke Plitical philsphy was rebrn in the Renaissance and expanded upn in ... liberty and the pursuit f happiness." Lcke is mst renwned fr his plitical thery. Cntradicting Thmas Hbbes, Lcke believed that the riginal state ... f nature was happy and characterized by reasn and tlerance. In that state all peple ...
In this way, Lcke supprted demcracy as a frm f gvernment. Lcke wrte, We have learned frm histry we have reasn t cnclude that all peaceful beginnings f gvernment have been laid in cnsent f the peple. Gvernments were frmed, accrding t Lcke, t prtect the right t life, the right t freedm, and the right t prperty. Their rights were abslute, belnging t all the peple. Lcke als believed that gvernment pwer shuld be divided equally int three branches f gvernment s that pliticians will nt face the temptatin t grasp at abslute pwer. If any gvernment abused these rights instead f prtecting them, then the peple had the right t rebel and frm a new gvernment. Jhn Lcke spke ut against the cntrl f any man against his will. This cntrl was acceptable neither in the frm f an unfair gvernment, nr in slavery.
Lcke wrte, The natural liberty f man is t be free frm any superir pwer n earth, and nt t be under the will r legislative authrity f man, but nly have the law f nature fr his rule. In additin, Lcke felt that wmen had the ability t reasn, which entitled them t an equal vice- an unppular idea during this time in histry. Despite fearing that he might be censred, he wrte, It may nt be wrng t ffer new ideas when the ld traditins are apt t lead men int mistakes, as this idea f fatherly pwers prbably has dne, which seems s eager t place the pwer f parents ver their children whlly in the father, as if the mther had n share in it: whereas if we cnsult reasn r the Bible, we shall find she has an equal title. If yu try t justify why human sciety ges frm a wnderful and psitive state f nature int a mstly uncntrllable plitical state, it is virtually impssible. Russeau feels that when we enter int this plitical state, r sciety, that it is an inevitable. Humans will reach their ptential, hwever at the same time sciety takes us away frm ur natural state and crrupts us. Human tendency will revert back t nature nce it is free frm restraints.
These human inclinatins are what Russeau describes nature t be. They are ur sensatins that we are brn with. They grw and strengthen with the grwth f sensibility and intelligence, but are replaced by beliefs when under the pressure frm pure habit. Russeaus gal f educatin is t develp single-minded individuals wh are fcused n what they want and nt swayed by thers. They must be self-disciplined in rder t make their wn decisins and t get what they want frm life, making them in a way selfish. The abve cncept basically explains Russeaus idea f perfect plitics.
The Essay on On The Aesthetic Education Of Man
On the Aesthetic Education of Man Friedrich Schiller wrote an interesting book called On the Aesthetic Education of Man. In this book he defines patterns of beauty and art and also he is trying to integrate the patterns of beauty into the educational process of humans. This is a philosophical approach that he is trying to implement in evaluating the concepts concerning the issue of aesthetic ...
Thmas Hbbes, n the ther hand, had a cmpletely different view f human beings and hw gvernment shuld functin. This is due t his backgrund f grwing up in England, during a time f religius, scial, and plitical discrd. Hbbes, was very interested in why peple allwed themselves t be ruled and what wuld be the best frm f gvernment fr England. In 1651, Hbbes wrte his mst famus wrk, entitled Leviathan. In it, he argued that peple were naturally wicked and culd nt be trusted t gvern. Therefre, Hbbes believed that an abslute mnarchy- a gvernment that gave all pwer t a king r queen- was best.
Hbbes believed that humans were basically selfish creatures wh wuld d anything t better their psitin. Left t themselves, he thught, peple wuld act n their evil impulses. Accrding t Hbbes, peple therefre shuld nt be trusted t make decisins n their wn. In additin, Hbbes felt that natins, like peple, were selfishly mtivated. T Hbbes, each cuntry was in a cnstant battle fr pwer and wealth. T prve his pint, Hbbes wrte, If men are naturally in a state f war, why d they always carry arms and why d they have keys t lck their drs? Gvernment was created, accrding t Hbbes, t prtect peple frm their wn selfishness and evil. The best gvernment was ne that had the great pwer f a leviathan.
Hbbes believed in the rule f a king because he felt a cuntry needed an authrity figure t prvide directin and leadership. Because the peple were nly interested in prmting their wn self-interests, Hbbes believed demcracy wuld never wrk. Hbbes wrte, All man kind is in a perpetual and restless desire fr pwer that stps nly in death. Cnsequently, giving pwer t the individual wuld create a dangerus situatin that wuld start a war f every man against every man and make life slitary, pr, nasty, brutish, and shrt. Despite his distrust in demcracy, Hbbes believed that a diverse grup f representatives presenting the prblems f the cmmn persn wuld hpefully prevent a king frm being cruel and unfair. During Hbbes lifetime, business began t have a big influence n gvernment.
The Essay on It Goes Without Saying That Interest Rates Influence Our Decisions
It goes without saying, that interest rates influence our decisions, and affect many activities in our lives. Interest rates can be expressed as a percentage of the amount borrowed or saved. People always try to be well-informed about changes in economy and finance. They say that it helps them to make better decisions about their personal finance. It is evident that interest rates affected the ...
Thse wh culd cntribute mney t the gvernment were given great status, and business interests were very pwerful. In rder t ffset the grwing pwer f business, Hbbes believed that an individual culd be heard in gvernment by authrizing a representative t speak n their behalf. In fact, Hbbes came up with the phrase vice f the peple, which meant that ne persn culd be chsen t represent a grup with similar views. Hwever, this vice was merely heard and nt necessarily listened t- final decisins lay with the king. Bibligraphy: The Calvinist origins of Lockean political economy / Richard Boyd. // IN: History of political thought. 23 (2002):30-60. Hobbes, Thomas.
Leviathan. New York: Jugas Press, 1976. Blum, Carol (1986) Rousseau and the Republic of Virtue: The Language of Politics in the French Revolution. Cornell UP.
