John Locke
(1632-1704)
John Locke
• “Blank Slate” – people learn
and develop differently
because they are exposed to
different things.
• His philosophy heavily
influenced the Declaration of
Independence.
• Believed human nature is
John Locke
• State of Nature
– If we did not have a government we would
end up in a “state of nature”.
– It is government’s job to protect people’s
natural rights
• Social Contract
– The people agree to give up some freedoms,
but only if the government agrees to protect
everyone’s rights
John Locke
• Major works:
Two Treatises of Government
A Letter Concerning Toleration
“The state of nature has a
law of nature to govern it,
which treats everyone
equally…[B]eing equal and
independent, no one ought
to harm another in his life,
health or possessions.”
“The old [traditions] are apt to lead
men into mistakes, as this [idea] of
[fatherly] power’s probably has
done, which seems so [eager] to
place the power of parents over
their children wholly in the father,
as if the mother has no share in it.
Whereas if we consult reason or
[the Bible], we shall find she has
an equal title.”
“Whensoever…the [government]
shall…put into the hands of any
other absolute power over the
lives, liberty and estates of the
people, by this breach of trust they
forfeit the power [of] the
people….who have a right to
resume their original liberty, and by
the establishment of a new
[government] provide for their own
safety and security.”
June 1989 – Tiananmen Square
Baron de Montesquieu
(1689 -1755)
Baron de Montesquieu
• Famous for
theory of
separation of
powers.
Baron de Montesquieu
Said that there are 2 types of
governmental power:
1) Administrative (Legislative,
Executive, Judicial branches)
2) Sovereign (Certain people had
powers within their own
territory)
Baron de Montesquieu
He believed that a government
elected by the people was the
best form of government
* this government should
protect individual rights
Baron de Montesquieu
• Major works:
The Spirit of Laws
System of Ideas
“When the legislative
and executive powers
are united in the same
person, or in the same
body of magistrates,
there can be no
liberty.”
“In a true state of nature,
indeed, all men are born
equal, but they cannot
continue in this equality.
Society makes them lose it,
and they recover it only by
the protection of laws.”
Thomas Hobbes
(1588-1679)
Thomas Hobbes
In the “State of Nature”:
1) Everyone fears a violent death.
2) All rights are born of necessity.
3)In order to get what they wanted,
people would always be at war with
others.
Thomas Hobbes
• In the “State of Nature”:
“Life is solitary, poor, nasty,
brutish, and short”
• He believed that a social contract should
exist between the government and the
people
• He believed that once the people agreed
to hand over power in exchange for
protection, they lost their right to
overthrow, replace, or even question
government.
Thomas Hobbes
• Major works included
Leviathan, which became one
of the first scholarly works on
the Social Contract Theory.
“The safety of the People,
requireth further, from
him, or them that have the
Sovereign Power, that
Justice be equally
administered to all
degrees of People. . . "
“In a place with no
government, Men
would desire to
obtain pleasure
without concern for
justice.”
“In a state of nature if
no government
exists then the life of
the man would be
solitary, poor, nasty,
brutish, and short. ”
Name the philosopher:
• Every person is born
with natural rights
given to them by God.
• John Locke
All men should
have the right to
life, liberty and
property.
John Locke
No person should
harm another person
because all people
are equal and
independent.
John Locke
In a state of nature, if
no government
exists, man will be
against man.
Thomas Hobbes
People are naturally
wicked and can not
be trusted to govern.
Thomas Hobbes
“Separation of
powers” is
necessary in
government.
Montesquieu
The best government is
that of a king because
a country needs an
authority figure to
provide leadership and
direction.
Thomas Hobbes
The best government
is the one that has
powers divided so
that there is a
balance of power.
Montesquieu
People should give
up their rights in
order to live by a
contract. This is
known as the Social
Contract Theory.
Hobbes and Locke