Posted by Debbie on March 13, 19103 at 22:36:14:
In Reply to: Re: compare and contrast the political philosophies of hobbes and locke posted by -*leigh*- on March 12, 19103 at 11:11:08:
: : : I am writing a paper on the differing opinions of Hobbes and Locke,(compare and contrast). Can anyone help?
Hobbs grows up in what is referred to as a State of Nature, (meaning the absense of government, no laws, no authority. Writes a book that at the time only the wealthy (the Elite) and the King can read. Ofcourse they love this idea of a government that has total control, hance the name Totalitarian Government. John Locke grows up in this environment and hates it. He writes a book called Treaties on Governement which all nobility hates along with the King. Locke flees to Paris rather than be killed for talking against the king and writes his next book, Second Treatise on Governement, cleaver on titles he wasn't. AT this time People were fleeing england from religious persicution and going to America, If they didn't conform to the Kings church, Angelican Church, they left. The Bible wasn't the only thing they coulc read and Lockes became one of the best sellers to the colonists. Who ofcourse fell in love with the ideas especially that about private property. Lock believed that you owned your body therefore everything you produce from your labor was also yours. So, when the colonist were being taxed they felt they no longer had to pay the king because it was theirs. Unlike Hobbes, in Lockes book, the citizens had the right to rebel if the Government, or King didn't hold up to his end of the contract. Which he didn't because he enterfered with the shipping and sent the more expensive taxed tea, and so on. Jefferson even goes so far as to plagerize Locke in the Declaration of Independence stating the king did this and this and this, therfore we have a right to rebel. And this, the right to rebel, is the main reason the Revolutionary War starts, this along with taxes, but remeber at this time the colonists were paying less than 2% and the English were paying 30-40%. So actually the war comes from Lockes book and the right to rebel.
I don't know if this helps but thats it in a nut shell. Go to all the web sights you can on the subject. It's very interesting.