Comparing John Locke and Thomas Hobbes
John Locke and Thomas Hobbes are two eminent English philosophers of the seventeenth century. Both of them witnessed the era of the English revolution and their views were affected by the revolution. Their thinking was similar in some ways but simultaneously they also had the difference in their opinions. This paper offers to present views of both the scholars and further analyses the difference in their philosophy.
Hobbes has pessimistic opinion about human behaviour. He perceives humans as nasty and brutal and suggests controlling this behaviour by the state. Hobbes suggests that humans are not social animal by nature and a strong government is required to regulate their behaviour. On the other hand, Locke believes that humans are like a blank notebook and their behaviour is changed according to the atmosphere. Locke suggests that humans are the social animal, and they learn their behaviour from the society only (Morris 1999).
Hobbes opines that there is a contract between the king and the people regarding the governance but once the king obtains the power, people cannot challenge the king. He holds the absolute power to command the people and the state (Mukherjee and Ramaswamy, 1998). On the other hand, Locke believes that governments get a conditional support from the people, and if they are not competent to rule, they can be overthrown by the people (Roberts and Sutch, 2013).
Hobbes suggests that people have no rights, and their all rights dissolved in the government. Government spares people with their lives. On the other hand, Locke believes that people have their rights and government cannot deprive them of their rights (Roberts and Sutch, 2013). Hobbes believes that government have absolute control over people’s lives while Locke suggests that the state has only one role and that is to ensure justice to everybody.
Works Cited
Morris, Christopher W. 1999. The Social Contract Theorists: Critical Essays on Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau. Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Mukherjee, S., and Ramaswamy, S.,. 1998. Thomas Hobbes: Great Western Political Thinker. N. Delhi: Deep and Deep Publications.
Roberts,P., and Sutch, P. 2013. An Introduction to Political Thought: A Conceptual Toolkit. Great Britain: Oxford University Press.
