Political Philosophy of
the US Constitution
Plato
Society:
• Considered all war to be fought over money
• Believed that all humans are essentially Good, but are inherently
different--everyone has different strengths which only education
fully develops
• Social roles, including leadership, must be based on strengths of
the individual
• Education instills virtue, integrity, and citizenship
Plato
Government:
• Believed in a self-sufficient community, led by a Philosopher-king
• Educated to lead
• instilled with the virtues of philosophy
• Unpaid, so uncorrupt-able
• Social roles dependent on talent
• Responsibility for survival dependent on community collaboration
• The “Masses” can be trusted because they are governed by
reason, but shouldn’t lead because they have other strengths
Plato
Plato’s Republic
• Examines justice
• People are NOT all equal
• Three levels of individuals:
• Philosophers (Gold)
• Guardians (Silver)
• Masses (Bronze)
Aristotle
Society:
• Thought that humans are unique animals because of their ability
for reason and complex speech
• Humans are not born good or bad, but are a born blank slate, a
“tabula rosa”
• Society and education instills the ability to “reason” good choices
• Society is defined as the unification of people for the common
good and mutual benefit
Aristotle
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Government
Good:
King -rises up from the people to lead- rule by one
Aristocracy -group of nobles assassinate tyrant and lead- few
Democracy -the people rise up to lead all people- many
Bad:
Tyrant -dynasty turns corrupt with power after several generations- one
Oligarchy -powerful nobles turn corrupt- few
Mobocracy -people seek self interest, tyranny of the majority, too many
voices heard- many
Thomas Hobbes
Society:
• Considered all humans to be naturally wicked and evil
• Competing for survival and resources
• Based on greed and self-interest
• Can not be trusted
• Might makes right
• Believed that humans are in a constant state of war due to
selfishness and scarcity
• Social stability only occurs through a social contract-an agreement
to stop killing each other
Thomas Hobbes
Government:
• Because humans can’t be trusted, believed that the best
government is an absolute monarchy
• Absolute Monarchy-Leviathan
• Why government should have absolute authority to wield
power to protect life
• The Masses agree to give up freedom for peace and security
(social contract)
Thomas Hobbes
• Life is nasty, brutish, and short
• State of nature is war
• Hobbes believed civil war was the ultimate terror, the
definition of fear itself.
• Security is most important
John Locke
Society:
• All humans are naturally capable of rational thought
• All humans use reason to settle differences and
compromise
• The “State of Nature” is one of total liberty and freedom
• Natural reason results in natural equality between all humans
• Humans all depend on property to satisfy their survival needs
John Locke
Government:
• Humans are naturally rational
• Humans use reason to govern themselves independently
• Rejected Divine Right, focused on the individual
• Important to protect “life, Liberty, and Property”
• Limit power of the government by a separation of power to check
and balance
• People enter into a “Social Contract” to allow peaceful
government, but always have the right to rebel if life, liberty, and
property are threatened
John Locke
• Second Treatise on Government
• People are equal and invested with natural rights in a
state of nature in which they live free from outside rule
• Natural law governs behavior, and each person has
license to execute that law against someone who wrongs
them by infringing on their rights
John Locke
• "If man in the state of nature be so free as has been said, if
he be absolute lord of his own person and possessions, equal
to the greatest and subject to nobody, why will he part with
his freedom, this empire, and subject himself to the
dominion and control of any other power? To which it is
obvious to answer, that though in the state of nature he hath
such a right, yet the enjoyment of it is very uncertain and
constantly exposed to the invasion of others; for all being
kings as much as he, every man his equal, and the greater
part no strict observers of equity and justice, the enjoyment
of the property he has in this state is very unsafe, very
insecure."
John Locke
• Government exists for the people's benefit and can be
replaced or overthrown if it ceases to function toward
that primary end
• Consent of the governed – enter into social contract to
protect property and ensure liberty
Baron De Montesquieu
Society:
• Considered the French government to be too lavish
• Believed that religion corrupted governments, especially
Christianity
• Considered women to be weak, but valuable participants
in political process
• Approved of slavery and the natural inequality of the
races
Baron De Montesquieu
Government:
• Believed in secular, but ethical, governments
• Considered limited monarchy to be the most stable
government
• Separation of powers essential to stop abuse and
corruption=Checks and Balances
• Participation based on educated
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Society:
• All humans are born free, independent and good
• People would naturally life happily
• Modern society corrupts people
• Focus on industry (dehumanized labor)
• Focus on money making
• Focus on technology
• Society makes people unhappy
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Government:
• Best political unit is small
• Best government is a direct democracy, with decisions made by
simple majority (of men)
• All decisions made locally, according to the needs of the
community
• Considered elected executives necessary
• Believed that government should protect freedom
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
• “Man is born free, yet he is everywhere in chains”
• “Will of all” vs. “General will”
• The general will can never err, as it is always aimed at the
public good
• The will of all is an aggregate of individual self-interest
(tyranny is possible)
• Purpose of political community is to create a society where
everyone chooses the laws that govern them
• “Men must be forced to be free”
• By nature, men are unequal
• Making everyone a citizen in society makes them equal under
the law
Social Contract Theorists
Thomas Hobbes: The Leviathan
John Locke: Second Treatise on Government
Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Social Contract
• Three fundamental ideals which exemplifies the Social
Contract:
• Natural Rights
• Classical Republicanism
• Constitutionalism
Social Contract
• A social contract is an act by which individuals
agree to form a government.
• The social contract theory states that
governments are established by the people
who combine to achieve a common outcome.
Voltaire
• He was a courageous polemicist who fought for civil rights (the
right to a fair trial, freedom of speech and freedom of religion)
and who denounced the hypocrisies and injustices of the Ancien
Régime, which involved an unfair balance of power and taxes
between the First Estate (the clergy), the Second Estate (the
nobles), and the Third Estate (the commoners and middle class,
who were burdened with most of the taxes). Voltaire saw the
French bourgeoisie as too small and ineffective, the aristocracy as
parasitic and corrupt, the commoners as ignorant and
superstitious, and the church as a static force useful only to
provide backing for revolutionaries.