Political Science: Political Philosophers (and their Most Notable Works, Ideas, etc.)

Plato

• The Republic 

  • What is justice? What is a just society? 

  • Philosopher-king rules: can see higher truth and justice; wisdom 

  • Harmonious order of functional classes: 

    • Philosophers rule

    • Soldiers defend

    • Farmers and artisans produce

  • Society is fairest whenever people are performing their assigned tasks 

• Argues for the common possession of resources (no private property) 

• Ideal Regime: Aristocracy 

Aristotle 

• “Man is by nature a political animal” 

• Society and political community important for human fulfillment

  • People who “live on their own” are not really human

• First to advocate for a constitutional government (having ground rules for a political system) 

• Ideal Regime: Polity

  • Mix of Democracy and Oligarchy 

  • Limits on power of rich (few) and poor (many) 

  • Importance of middle class 

Augustine of Hippo

• Famous work: City of God 

  • Sets the foundations of political realism 

  • City of God: “heavenly city” of perfect love, peace, justice, and freedom 

    • A utopia, an unattainable idea, cannot be empirically observed but it aspired to 

  • City of Man: “earthly city” of conflict, injustice, and war

  • But government authority can maintain a minimum of civilization - a gift from God 

  • Therefore “fallen people” must subject to it 

Thomas Aquinas

• Famous work: Summa Theologica 

  • Foundations of modern constitutionalism - basic rules 

  • Agrees w/ Aristotle: Importance of political community for human beings

  • But spiritual guidance by Christian Church is also important for a good life 

  • Natural Laws (NLT): basic rules apply to all human beings by nature; derive from eternal laws 

  • From him, we see the concept of “rights” for the first time in political literature 

  • Government: constrained and responsible by law 

  • Government: power should not be arbitrary 

  • Ideal Regime: Monarchy / Constitutional Government

Niccolò Machiavelli

• Famous works: The Prince (guidebook for the Medici rulers), Discourses on Livy 

• Emphasis on civic virtue - being a good citizen, contributing to the common good 

• Ideal Regime: A virtuous republic 

  • Virtuous (civic minded) people - care about the common good 

• Called for popular participation in government 

• Nobody thought people should vote, he was against this, he thought people should 

• Main Objection to Democracy: People cannot be trusted to vote for the “correct” person because they are not educated, etc. so he prompted why don’t we just educate them

• Public-spirited elites + virtuous people = Virtuous Republic

• Called for a mixed and balanced constitution (taken from Aristotle’s mixing democracy and oligarchy) 

• Discussed competition between parties (groups of people with similar interests, not political parties) and thus concepts of liberty under law 

• Called for a citizen army (at the time, most armies were a mercenary army and until Napoleon there was not really citizen armies) 

  • If people fight for the common good, they should be expected to fight to the death for it if they really believe they are fighting for the common good 

Thomas Hobbes

• Famous Work: The Leviathan 

• Ideal Regime: Government by a sovereign (monarch or parliament) 

• Human beings: materialistic and selfish by nature 

• State of nature: State of War “of every man against every man” 

• Social Contract: People delegate to a sovereign power the right to maintain social peace 

  • A conceptual “exchange” in which the people give the government power so they could live in peace 

• Sovereign should have unlimited power 

  • Sovereign is justified because they are entrusted with maintaining order

• Motive: self-preservation, this is what motivates us to accept the “Social Contract” 

• What am I sacrificing to be a part of a political community? Hobbes starts to answer this question…

John Locke

• Famous Work: Two Treatises of Government 

• State of nature: people have natural inalienable rights to life, liberty, and property 

• Social Contract: People give government the right to protect their individual rights 

  • Not to protect us from each other, but to protect our rights

  • Thus, government is limited by the Social Contract via a constitution, which outlines upon which rights the government cannot infringe 

• Government must be accountable to citizens 

• Founder / Father of modern liberal democracy 

Jean-Jacques Rousseau 

• Famous work: The Social Contract

• General will: the constant, long-term will of the people (the people did this, the people did that) 

• People are the sovereign (not the government) 

• Social contract: government acts on behalf of the people and the general will

Edmund Burke

• Famous Work: “Reflections on the Revolution in France” 

• Founder of modern conservatism, he did not like the idea of radical change seen in the French Revolution 

• A perspective / historical constitution 

  • Rules that protect basic rights 

• Wisdom passed down between generations, this idea contributes to slow change

• Thinks all classes should be considered in decision-making 

• Is prudent / cautious

Mary Wollstonecraft

• Famous Works: A Vindication of the Rights of Man, a Vindication of the Rights of Women 

• Feminism and Women’s Rights

• Break with traditions and conventions

• Criticizes norms of dependence of women on men in society 

• Criticizes the focus of women’s upbringing on frivolous things (fashion, beauty, and pleasure) 

• Emphasizes the value of education for nurturing strong and independent women 

John Stuart Mill 

• Famous Works: On Liberty, Considerations on Representative Government 

• Utilitarianism: 

  • Society’s goal: maximize happiness

  • Great happiness of the greatest number

• Ideal Regime: Representative, constitutional government that maximizes happiness  

• Individual liberty can be restricted only when individuals cause harm to others (The Harm Principle) 

• Limited government intervention in economy (modified “laissez faire” political economy) 

Vladimir Lenin

• Application of Marxist ideas in Russia 

• Inspired by Marx’s idea of dialectical change

• Advocated and masterminded violent revolution in Russia (1917) 

• Advocated a one-party state 

• Communist Party: serves as the social and intellectual “vanguard” that guides society to communism 

Joseph Stalin

• Marx: Communist revolution will spread around the world

• Stalin: Communism can be confined and developed in one country 

• Strong Soviet Union as defense against Capitalism 

• Promotion of investment in heavy industry and of collective farms (“Stalinization”) 

Mao Zedong 

• Adapted Communist ideas in China 

• Farmers (not just industrial workers) important for Communist change

• Established PR China in 1949 

• Long-term transition to Communism in PRC (not one-off revolution) 

  • Great Leap Forward (1958) 

  • Cultural Revolution (1966-69)