Global Political Philosophers

Politics is the process by which a community interacts with its government

What is politics?

In simple terms, philosophy is the study of the fundamental beliefs of an idea or concept

What is philosophy?

Political philosophy is the study of how a community interacts with its government.

Might makes right!Adolf Hitler

Dictatorship philosophy:

Royal family is sovereign.

King John of England 1215 CE

Monarchy philosophy:

God or gods rule through the leader!

Cleopatra: Ancient Eyptian pharoahs.

Theocracy philosophy:

Which philosophers speak to rule by citizens?

Confucius- China

551 to 479 BCE

Confucius’ desired society on earth to be just and stable. Goodness was the essential quality needed to keep society together. People are not born good, but must be taught goodness.

It was essential that the rulers be taught goodness, both spiritual and intellectual, because if rulers are too harsh, the people will lose their faith in the law.

If people are taught goodness, then they will have those qualities and they will regulate themselves.

In the end, the people will only follow what in their hearts they feel is just.

Plato- Greek philosopher

Wrote the Republic in 360 BCE.

First, the best rulers are wise. Second, the best rulers rule for the benefit of the ruled, and not for their own sake.

Third, a city is highly unlikely to have the best rulers, in part because there is a gulf between the values of most people and the values of the wise.

Key Philosophies in Republic

Fourth, the greatest harm to a state is disagreement about who should rule, since competing factions create civil strife.

Fifth, the goal of politics is harmony or agreement among the citizens about who should rule.

Last, harmony requires that the state cultivate virtue and the rule of law.

Thomas Hobbes- English writer 1650 to 1679

Hobbes lived during the English Civil Wars.

He saw England torn apart by political division and competition. Businesses failed and life for many was worse than before the fighting.

Hobbes said “the state of nature is the state of war.”

States needed strong central rulers to suppress private desires and allow business and peace to flourish.

States and citizens entered into a “social contract” specifying agreement of the terms of government rule.

John Locke-England

1632-1704

Montesquieu- French traveler and writer

1689-1755