Philosophers

Thomas Hobbes

• collectivist; focused on security

• English and lived through the English Civil War

• Had a negative view of human nature: in a state of nature, there would be conflict and violence

  • “and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short”

• Therefore advocated for a strong, powerful government → a sovereign power like a king that would govern like a leviathan

  • the sovereign would have unlimited power in response to a threat: the priority: security. Individuals automatically give up their rights in a social contract.

• in return, rights are given up in exchange for security.

• use in discussions of political power and rights

John Locke

• individualist; father of liberalism during the enlightenment

• People by nature are free and equal, rejecting the nature that people are naturally subject to monarchy

• People are rational but work in their self interests

• People have inherent rights (born with them) to life, liberty and property

• Therefore, individualist based on the focus on rights and individual autonomy (liberties)

• Limited government via social contract

  • Some rights are given up to the government to ensure stability, comfort, liberty and property rights → therefore there are limited taxes

  • Government can only exist with the consent of the people

  • Promotion of common good and rights

  • Failure of the government means it can be replaced and resisted.

  • e.g. infrastructure and security

• More left wing than Mill

Secularism: separation between church and state; there would be no religious wars

Montesquieu

• how to avoid corruption and despotism

  • separate powers into branches

  • all bodies are bound by the rule of law (constitution)

  • framed the American constitution

  • Legislative/Executive/Judicial

Adam Smith

• to best meet our needs, we should practice “laissez faire” (leave alone) capitalism

  • no trade barriers

  • end of subsidies and government monopoly

  • free market, small government

  • market forces (e.g. supply and demand) regulate the economy

  • The Invisible Hand → supply and demand, consumer sovereignty

  • Father of Capitalism

• we can buy and sell whatever we want based upon supply and demand — as long as its legal.

• The Wealth of Nations

  • “not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from regard to their own interest”

John-Stuart Mill

• Father of Liberalism → wrote a book called “On Liberty”

• Importance of individual freedoms — government required to step in and protect

  • “power can only be used against 1 person to protect the many”

  • a person is capable of deciding for themselves unless society is affected

• An individual’s power is absolute when concerning only themselves

John Jacques Rousseau

• “Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains”

  • alive during the French Revolution, where everyone had to work to support the lifestyles of the 2nd and 1st Estate

• People are naturally good → wrote essay The Social Contract

• Private property leads to corruption and selfishness

  • we should live together peacefully

  • when government fails, people can remove the government

    • however, it is not instantaneous

• An ideal state of nature should be adopted as absolute authority → direct form of democracy; rejects representative democracy

Karl Marx

• Father of Communism

• beliefs strongly in economic equality

• abolishing private property

• dictatorship of the proletariat

• Working Class v. Bourgeoisee conflict leads to a revolution

• “Let ruling classes tremble at the idea of revolution… the proletariat have nothing to lose but chains… the world to win… working peoples of the world unite!”

  • Primitive communism → slavery → feudalism → capitalism → revolutionary socialism → communism where the state withers away

Timeline:

Hobbes → Locke → Montesqieu → Rousseau → Smith → Mill → Marx