Philosphers+Essay

Katheren Pomera September 30, 2009 12th Year Government- Political Philosophy Aristotle, Hobbes and Locke’s Political Philosophy

Every human is given the gift of knowledge, thus they can utilize this knowledge anyhow, anywhere, and anytime they want to. As we grow, our knowledge nurtures through curiosity. Many people say being curious is the same as being a philosopher because curious people think big and their ideas can influence a lot of people. During the age of enlightenment, when modern philosophy occurred between 17th and 20th century, a lot of philosophers arose and many new different ideas regarding politics, society and science became familiar to Europe, America, and many other countries in the latter years. Numerous of these philosophers have influenced several governments and societies, and even today their political philosophies are still being practiced. John Lock, Thomas Hobbes, and Aristotle–who was from a different time period (384–­322 B.C), were three of the greatest and powerful thinkers. These philosophers had different ideas of government and society, and everybody many not consent to their beliefs. However, if I were to live in a society under whatever government, I would John Locke’s philosophy. John Locke, who was one of England’s greatest philosophers, believed that all men were born free with equal rights and every individual is subject to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. John Locke’s idea of government was more democratic than the other philosophers’. He believed in a government run by the people and for the people, and he argued that a reasonable government is one that “rests on the consent of the people and preserves their natural rights ­­—that is, the rights they are born with.” i Whatever actions the government plans to take, it cannot be done without the consent of its people. For instance, the government cannot raise taxes without people’s consent and if it does, it is required to shape all laws for the good of the society and advertise the laws, and direct them evenly to the rich and the poor. John Locke’s philosophies are not limited to any individual, and in comparison to Hobbes and Aristotle’s ideas of societies, I believe John Locke’s idea of society and government would succeed more because there is a unity between each human being. Thomas Hobbes’ idea of government is rather communist; it requires the citizens to give up their natural rights to the government in order for the society to live in harmony. He argued that the government must have absolute power to ensure peace and security. Thus, the people have no voice in the government or the society. I believe that if people were to force to give up their rights “in favor” of the sovereign, the people will only end up rebelling against the government because what is good for the society may not be good for an individual. John Locke’s political philosophy provides everyone equality and as a result not one individual is greater or powerful than the other. I assume that problems start from inequality because if one feels that the other person has more power than him or her, he or she will feel threatened and then various actions will take place, which can lead to a disaster. In addition, government’s actions must be done with people’s consent and for the good of the people, in which Aristotle somewhat idealized. Aristotle’s political philosophy has many similarities to John Locke’s. Aristotle believed that a city-state is made up of individual citizens of who are the bases of which the city-state is created, and it must have a constitution that is designed for the citizens to follow. However, Aristotle also believed that in order for a city-state to be organized, there must be a ruler. This ruler must be the person who first established the city-state. Aristotle also stated that this person is responsible for setting laws. ii Although, Aristotle has quite a few similarities with John Locke, there are number aspects in Aristotle’s philosophy in which I disagree because in the end, there is always going to be that one person to rule over the society, which I believe will create unfairness and lead to a conflict. In conclusion, John Locke’s ideal society and government is more preferable for me to live in because it preserves my natural right and my opinion about the society and government will be heard and considered. In Locke’s society, I would have all freedom and I believe freedom is the key to living in harmony. In comparison, Thomas Hobbes and Aristotle’s philosophies focuses more on ruling the society through having a sovereign than protecting the individuals rights and interests. [i]

[i] Of the Limits of Government: John Locke [Hand out, Page 124] ii []